6IQLOGY  LIBRARY 


OUR  COMMON  INSECTS, 


•  . 
.' 


Library 


COMMON  INSECTS 


A  POPULAR  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  INSECTS 


Illustrated  with  4  Plates  and  268  Woodcuts. 


By 

A.     S.     PACKARD,     JR., 

Author  of  "  A  GUIDE  TO  THE  STUDY  OF  INSECTS." 


SALEM. 

NATURALISTS'   AGENCY, 

BOSTON:  Estes  &  Lauriat    NEW  YORK:  Dodd  &  Mead. 

1873. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1873,  by 

F.  W.  PUTNAM  &  CO., 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


PRINTED  AT 

THE     SALEM    PRESS, 
P.  W.  PUTNAM  &  CO., 

Proprietors. 


DEDICATION. 


TO    SAMUEL   H.  SCTJDDER. 


MY  DEAR  SCUDDER  :  — You  and  I  were  drawn  together 
many  years  ago  by  a  common  love  for  insects  and  their 
ways. 

I  dedicate  this  little  volume  of  ephemeral  essays  to 
you  in  recognition  of  your  worth  as  a  man  and  a 
scientist,  and  as  a  token  of  warm  friendship. 

Yours  sincerely, 

A.  S.  PACKARD,  JR. 


PREFACE. 


THIS  little  volume  mainly  consists  of  a  reprint  of  a 
series  of  essays  which  appeared  in  the  "American  Natu- 
ralist" (Vols.  i-v,  1867-71).  It  is  hoped  that  their 
perusal  may  lead  to  a  better  acquaintance  with  the 
habits  and  forms  of  our  more  common  insects.  The 
introduction  was  written  expressly  for  this  book,  as 
well  as  Chapter  XIII,  "Hints  on  the  Ancestry  of  In- 
sects." The  scientific  reader  may  be  drawn  with  greater 
interest  to  this  chapter  than  to  any  other  portion  of 
the  book.  In  this  discussion  of  a  perhaps  abstruse 
and  difficult  theme,  his  indulgence  is  sought  for  what- 
ever imperfections  or  deficiencies  may  appear.  Our 
systems  of  classification  may  at  least  be  tested  by  the 
application  of  the  theory  of  evolution.  The  natural 
system,  if  we  mistake  not,  is  the  genealogy  of  organ- 
ized forms ;  when  we  can  trace  the  latter,  we  establish 
the  former.  Considering  how  much  naturalists  differ 
in  their  views  as  to  what  is  a  natural  classification,  it 
is  not  strange  that  a  genealogy  of  animals  or  plants 


vm 

seems  absurd  to  many.  To  another  generation  of 
naturalists  it  must,  perhaps,  be  left  to  decide  whether 
to  attempt  the  one  is  more  unphilosophical  than  to 
attempt  the  other. 

Most  of  the  cuts  have  already  appeared  in  the  "Guide 
to  the  Study  of  Insects"  and  the  "American  Naturalist," 
where  their  original  sources  are  given,  while  a  few 
have  been  kindly  contributed  by  Prof.  A.  E.  Verrill, 
the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  and  Prof.  C.  V. 
Riley,  and  three  are  original. 

SALEM,  June,  1873. 


OUR  COMMON   INSECTS. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

What  is  an  Insect?  When  we  remember  that  the  insects 
alone  comprise  four-fifths  of  the  animal  kingdom,  and  that 
there  are  upwards  of  200,000  living  species,  it  would  seem  a 
hopeless  task  to  define  what  an  insect  is.  But  a  common  plan 
pervades  the  structure  of  them  all.  The  bodies  of  all  insects 
consist  of  a  succession  of  rings,  or  segments,  more  or  less  hard- 
ened by  the  deposition  of  a  chemical  substance  called  chitine ; 
these  rings  are  arranged  in  three  groups  :  the  head,  the  thorax, 
or  middle  body,  and  the  abdomen  or  hind  body.  In  the  six- 
footed  insects,  such  as  the  bee,  moth,  beetle  or  dragon  fly, 
four  of  these  rings  unite  early  in  embryonic  life  to  form  the 
head;  the  thorax  consists  of  three,  as  maybe  readily  seen  on 
slight  examination,  and  the  abdomen  is  composed  either  of  ten 
or  eleven  rings.  The  body,  then,  seems  divided  or  insected 
into  three  regions,  whence  the  name  insect. 

The  head  is  furnished  with  a  pair  of  antennae,  a  pair  of  jaws 
(mandibles),  and  two  pairs  oF  maxillae,  the  second  and  basal 
pair  being  united  at  their  base  to  form  the  so-called  labium,  or 
under  lip.  These  four  pairs  of  appendages  represent  the  four 
rings  of  the  head,  to  which  they  are  appended  in  the  order  stated 
above. 

A  pair  of  legs  is  appended  to  each  of  the  three  rings  of  the 
thorax ;  while  the  first  and  second  rings  each  usually  carry  a 
pair  of  wings. 

- 


IV  INTRODUCTORY. 

The  abdomen  contains  the  ovipositor;  sometimes,  as  in  the 
bees  and  wasps,  forming  a  sting.     In   the  spiders  (Fig.  1), 

however,  there  are  no  an- 
tennae, and  the  second 
maxillae,  or  labium,  is 
wanting.  Moreover,  there 
are  four  pairs  of  legs. 
The  centipedes  (Fig.  2,  a 
Myriopocl)  also  differ  from 
the  rest  of  the  insects 
in  having  an  indefinite 
number  of  abdominal 
rings,  each  bearing  a  pair 
of  legs. 

On  examining  the  ar- 
1.  Spider  (Tegenaria).  rangement   of   the    parts 

Within,  we  find  the  nervous  cord,  consisting  of  two  chains  of 
swellings,  or  nerve-knots,  resting  upon  the 
floor  or  under  side  of  the  body ;  and  the  heart, 
or  dorsal  vessel,  situated  just  under  the  skin 
of  the  back;  and  in  looking  at  living  cater- 
pillars, such  as  the  cut- worm,  and  many  thin- 
skinned  aquatic  larvae,  we  can  see  this  long 
tubular  heart  pulsating  about  as  often  as  our 
own  heart,  and  when  the  insect  is  held  against 
its  will,  or  is  agitated,  the  rapidity  of  the  pulsa- 
tions increases  just  as  with  us. 

Insects  do  not  breathe  as  ill  the  higher  ani- 
mals by  taking  the  ajr  into  the  mouth  and  filling 
the  lungs,  but  tijere  are  a  .series,  of  U°les  or 
pores  along  the  side  of  the  body,  as  seen  In  the 
grub  of  the  humble  bee,  through  which  the  air    a.  Pentipede. 
enters  and  is  conveyed  to  every  part  of  the  body  by  an  immense 
number  of  air  tubes.     (Fig.  £     it?  t^^13?  °*  ^r^cllLe8e'  in  t?ie  cau" 


\ 


WHAT  IS  AN  INSECT?  V 

dal  appendage  of  the  larva  of  a  dragon  fly).  These  air  tubes 
are  everywhere  bathed  by  the  blood,  by  which  the  latter  becomes 
oxygenated. 

Indeed  the  structure  of  an  insect  is  entirely  different  from 
that  of  man  or  the 
quadrupeds,   or  any 
other  vertebrate  ani- 
mal,   and    what    we 

call    head,     thorax,         3-  Caudal  appendage  of  larva  of  Agrion. 
abdomen,  gills,  stomach,  skin,  or  lungs,  or  jaws,  are  called  so 
simply  for  convenience,  and  not  that  they  are  made  in  the  same 
way  as  those  parts  in  the  higher  animals. 

An  insect  differs  from  a  horse,  for  example,  as  much  as  a 
modern  printing  press  differs  from  the  press  Franklin  used. 
Both  machines  are  made  of  iron,  steel,  wood,  etc.,  and  both 
print;  but  the  plan  of  their  structure  differs  throughout,  and 
some  parts  are  wanting  in  the  simpler  press  which  are  present 
and  absolutely  essential  in  the  other.  So  with  the  two  sorts 
of  animals ;  they  are  built  up  originally  out  of  protoplasm,  or 
the  original  jelly-like  germinal  matter,  which  fills  the  cells  com- 
posing their  tissues,  and  nearly  the  same  chemical  elements 
occur  in  both,  but  the  mode  in  which  these  are  combined,  the 
arrangement  of  their  products :  the  muscular,  nervous  and  skin 
tissues,  differ  in  the  two  animals.  The  plan  of  structure,  namely, 
the  form  and  arrangement  of  the  body  walls,  the  situation  of 
the  appendages  to  the  body,  and  of  the  anatomical  systems  within, 
i.  e.,  the  nervous,  digestive,  circulatory,  and  respiratory  systems, 
differ  in  their  position  in  relation  to  the  walls  of  the  body. 
Thus  while  the  two  sorts  of  animals  reproduce  their  kind,  eat, 
drink  and  sleep,  see,  hear  and  smell,  they  perform  these  acts  by 
different  kinds  of  organs,  situated  sometimes  on  the  most  oppo- 
site parts  of  the  body,  so  that  there  is  no  comparison  save  in 
the  results  which  they  accomplish;  they  only  agree  in  being 
animals,  and  in  having  a  common  animal  nature. 


VI  INTRODUCTORY. 

How  Insects  Eat.    The  jaws  of  insects  (Fig.  4)  are  horny  pro- 
cesses situated  on  each  side  of  the  mouth.    They  are  variously 

toothed,  so  as  to 
tear  the  food, 
and  move  hori- 
zontally instead 
4.  Different  forms  of  jaws.  of  up  and  down 

as  in  the  horse.     The  act  of  taking  the  food,  especially  if  the 
insect  be  carnivorous  in  its  habits,  is  quite  complex,  as  not  only 


5.  Mouth-parts  of  the  Larva  of  a  Beetle. 

the  true  jaws,  but  the  accessory  jaws  (maxillae,  Fig.  5,  a,  upper, 
&,  under  side  of  the  head  of  a  young  beetle ;  at,  anten- 
nae, md,  mandible,  mx,  maxillae,  wcc1,  labium)  and  the 
feelers  (palpi)  attached  to  the  maxillae,  and  the  un- 
der lip  (labium)  are  of  great  service  in  enabling  the 
insect  to  detect  its  food  both  by  the  senses  of  touch 
and  smell.  The  maxillae  are  in  the  fully  grown  bee-  G  Maxjua  of 
tie  (Fig.  6)  divided  into  three  lobes,  the  outermost "  a  Beetle, 
forming  the  palpus,  and  the  two  others  forming  sharp  teeth, 
often  provided  with  hairs  and  minute  brushes  for  cleansing  the 
adjoining  parts;  these  strong  curved  teeth  are  used  in  seizing 


HOW  INSECTS  EAT. 


VH 


the  food  and  placing  it  between  the  grinders,  where  it  is  crush- 
ed, prepared  for  digestion  and  swallowed.  -Fig.  7  represents 
the  mouth  parts 
of  the  humble  bee 
(6,  upper  lip;  d, 
mandible;  e,  max- 
illa ;  /,  maxillary 
palpus;  g,  tongue; 
ihj  labium  and  la- 
bial palpi ;  k,  eye.) 

The  alimentary 
canal  passes 
through  the  middle 
of  the  body,  the 
stomach  forming 
usually  a  simple 
enlargement.  Just 
before  the  stomach 
in  certain  insects,  7.  Mouth  parts  of  a  Humble  Bse. 

as  the  grasshopper,  is  a  gizzard  armed  with  rows  of  powerful 
horny  teeth  for  finely  crushing  grass. 

Insects  eat  almost  incredible  quantities  of  food  when  young 
and  growing  rapidly.  Mr.  Trouvelot  tells  us  in  the  "  American 
Naturalist"  that  the  food  taken  by  a  single  American  Silk- 
worm in  fifty-six  days  is  equal  to  eighty-six  thousand  times  its 
primitive  weight!  On  the  other  hand,  after  the  insect  has 
finished  its  transformations,  it  either  takes  no  food  at  all,  as  in 
the  May  fly,  or  merely  sips  the  honey  of  flowers,  as  in  the  butter- 
fly, while  the  June  beetle  and  many  others  like  it  eat  the  leaves 
of  trees,  and  the  tiger  and  ground  beetles  feed  voraciously  on 
other  insects. 

How  Insects  Walk.  In  man  and  his  allies,  the  vertebrates,  the 
process  of  walking  is  a  most  difficult  and  apparently  dangerous 
feat.  To  describe  the  mechanics  of  walking,  the  wonderful 


VIH  INTRODUCTORY. 

adaptation  of  the  muscles  and  bones  for  the  performance  of 
this  most  ordinary  action  of  life,  would  require  a  volume.  The 
process  is  scarcely  less  complex  in  insects.  Lyonnet  found 
3,993  muscles  in  a  caterpillar,  and  while  a  large  proportion  be- 
long to  the  internal  organs,  over  a  thousand  assist  in  locomotion. 
Hence  the  muscular  power  of  insects  is  enormous.  A  flea  will 
leap  two  hundred  times  its  own  height,  and  cer- 
tain large,  solid  beetles  will  move  enormous 
weights  as  compared  to  the  bulk  of  their  bodies. 
In  walking,  as  seen  in  the  accompanying  figure 
(Fig.  8),  three  legs  are  thrown  forward  at  a  time, 
two  on  one  side  and  one  on  the  other. 

Flies  and  many  other  insects  can  walk  upside 
down,  or  on  glass,  as  easily  as  on  a  level  surface. 
8.  Larva  of  a  bee- A  fly's  foot,  as  in  most  other  insects,  consists  of 
18)<  five  joints  (tarsal  joints),  to  the  last  one  of  which 
is  appended  a  pair  of  stout  claws,  beneath  which  is  a  flat,  soft, 
fleshy  cushion  or  pad,  split  into  two  (sometimes  three)  flaps, 
beset  on  the  under  surface  with  fine  hairs.  A  part  of  these 
hairs  are  swollen  at  the  end,  which  is  covered  with  "  an  elastic 
membranous  expansion,  capable  of  close  contact  with  a  highly 
polished  surface,  from  which  a  minute  quantity  of  a  clear,  trans- 
parent fluid  is  emitted  when  the  fly  is  actively  moving."  (T. 
West.)  These  hairs  are  hence  called  holding,  or  tenent,  hairs. 
With  the  aid  of  these,  but  mainly,  as  Mr.  West  insists,  by  the 
pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  a  fly  is  enabled  to  adhere  to  per- 
•fectly  smooth  surfaces.  His  studies  show  the  following  curious 
facts.  "  That  atmospheric  pressure,  if  the  area  of  the  flaps  be 
alone  considered,  is  equal  to  just  one-half  the  weight  of  a  fly. 
If  the  area  covered  by  the  tenent  hairs  be  added,  an  increase 
of  pressure  is  gained,  equal  to  about  one- fourth  the  weight  of 
a  fly.  This  leaves  one-fourth  to  be  accounted  for  by  slight 
viscidity  of  the  fluid,  by  the  action  I  have  so  often  alluded  to, 
which  may  be  called  'grasping,'  by  molecular  attraction,  and, 


HOW  INSECTS  FLY.  IX 

doubtless,  by  other  agents  still  more  subtle,  with  which  we  have 
at  present  scarcely  any  acquaintance." 

How  Insects  Fly.  Who  of  us,  as  remarked  by  an  eminent  orni- 
thologist, can  even  now  explain  the  long  sustained,  peculiar 
flight  of  the  hawk,  or  turkey  buzzard,  as  it  sails  in  the  air  with- 
out changing  the  position  of  its  wings  ?  and,  we  would  add,  the 
somewhat  similar  flight  of  a  butterfly  ?  It  is  the  poetry  of  mo- 
tion, and  a  marvellous  exhibition  of  grace  and  ease,  combined 
with  a  wonderful  underlying  strength  and  lightness  of  the  parts 
concerned  in  flight. 

Before  we  give  a  partial  account  of  the  results  obtained  by 
the  delicate  experiments  of  Professor  Marey  on  the  flight  of 
birds  and  insects,  our  readers  should  be  reminded  of  the  great 
differences  between  an  insect  and  a  bird,  remembering  that  the 
former,  is,  in  brief,  a  chitinous  sac,  so  to  speak,  or  rather  a 
series  of  three  such  spherical  or  elliptical  sacs  (the  head,  thorax 
and  abdomen)  ;  the  outer  walls  of  the  body  forming  a  solid  but 
light  crust,  to  which  are  attached  broad,  membranous  wings, 
the  wing  being  a  sort  of  membranous  bag  stretched  over  a 
framework  of  hollow  tubes  (the  tracheae),  so  disposed  as  to  give 
the  greatest  lightness  and  strength  to  the  wing.  The  wings  are 
moved  by  powerful  muscles  of  flight,  filling  up  the  cavity  of  the 
thorax,  just  as  the  muscles  are  the  largest  about  the  tnorax  of 
a  bird.  Moreover  in  .the  bodies  of  insects  that  fly  (such  as  the 
bee,  cockchafer,  and  dragon  fly),  as  distinguished  from  those 
that  creep  exclusively,  the  air  tubes  (tracheae)  which  ramify 
into  every  part  of  the  body,  are  dilated  here  and  there,  espec- 
ially in  the  base  of  the  abdomen,  into  large  sacs,  which  are  filled 
with  air  when  the  insect  is  about  to  take  flight,  so  that  the 
specific  gravity  of  the  body  is  greatly  diminished.  Indeed, 
these  air  sacs,  dilatable  at  will  by  the  insect,  may  be  compared 
to  the  swimming  bladder  of  fishes,  which  enables  them  to  rise 
and  fall  at  will  to  different  levels  in  the  sea,  thus  effecting  an 
immense  saving  of  the  labor  of  swimming.  In  the  birds,  as 


X  INTRODUCTORY. 

every  body  knows  who  has  eaten  a  chicken,  or  attended  the 
dissection  of  a  Thanksgiving  turkey,  the  soft  parts  are  external, 
attached  to  the  bony  framework  comprising  the  skeleton,  the 
wing  bones  being  directly  connected  with  the  central  back 
bone ;  so  that  while  these  two  sorts  of  am  mated  flying  machines 
are  so  different  in  structure,  they  yet  act  in  much  the  same  man- 
ner when  on  the  wing.  The  difference  between  them  is  clearly 
stated  by  Marey,  some  of  whose  conclusions  we  now  give  almost 
word  for  word. 

The  flight  of  butterflies  and  moths  differs  from  that  of  birds 
in  the  almost  vertical  direction  of  the  stroke  of  their  wings,  and 
in  their  faculty  of  sailing  in  the  air  without  making  any  move- 
ments ;  though  sometimes  in  the  coufse  they  pursue  they  seem 
to  resemble  birds  in  their  flight. 

The  flight  of  insects  and  birds  moreover  differs  in  the  form 
of  the  trajectory  in  space;  in  the  inclination  of  the  plane  in 
which  the  wings  beat;  in  the  role  of  each  of 
the  two  alternating  (and  in  an  inverse  sense) 
movements  that  the  wings  execute;  as  also  in 
the  facility  with  which  the  air  is  decomposed 

during    these    different    movements.      As    the 

• 
wings   of  a   fly  are   adorned  with  a  brilliant 

array  of  colors,  we  can  follow  the  trajectory 
or  figure  that  each  wing  writes  in  the  air.  It 
is  of  the  form  of  a  figure  of  eight  (Fig.  9),  first 

9.  Figure  cut  by  an  discovered   by  Professor  J.  Bell  Pettigrew  of 
insect's  wing.       Edinburgh. 

By  an  ingenious  machine,  specially  devised  for 
the  purpose,  Professor  Marey  found  that  a  bird's 
wing  moves  in  an  ellipse,  with  a  pointed  summit 
(Fig.  10).  The  insect  beats  the  air  in  a  distinctly 
horizontal  plane,  but  the  bird  in  a  vertical  plane. 
The  wing  of  an  insect  is  impervious  to  the  air;  '  ^  ah  d' 
while  the  bird's  wing  resists  the  air  only  on  its  wing. 


HOW   INSECTS  FLY.  XI 

under  side.  Hence,  there  are  two  sorts  of  effects;  in  the 
insect  the  up  and  down  strokes  are  active;  in  the  bird,  the 
lowering  of  the  wing  is  the  only  active  period,  though  the 
return  stroke  seems  to  sustain  the  bird,  the  air  acting  on  the 
wing.  The  bird's  body  is  horizontal  when  the  wing  gives  a 
downward  stroke;  but  when  the  beat  is  upward,  the  bird  is 
placed  in  an  inclined  plane  like  a  winged  projectile,  and  mounts 
up  on  the  air  by  means  of  the  inclined  surfaces  that  it  passively 
offers  to  the  resistance  of  this  fluid. 

In  an  insect,  an  energetic  movement  is  equally  necessary  to 
strike  the  air  at  both  beats  up  and  down.  In  the  bird,  on  the 
contrary,  one  active  beat  only  is  necessary,  the  down  beat.  It 
creates  at  that  time  all  the  motive  force  that  will  be  dispensed 
during  the  entire  revolution  of  the  wing.  This  difference  is  due 
to  the  difference  in 
form  of  the  wing. 
The  difference  be- 
tween the  two 
forms  of  flight  is  11.  Trajectory  of  an  insect's  wing, 

shown  by  an  inspection  of  the  two  accompanying  figures  (11, 
12).  £n  insect's  wing  is  small  at  the  base  and  broad  at  the  end. 
This  breadth  would  be  useless  near  the  body,  because  at  this 
point  the  wing  does  not  move  swiftly  enough  to  strike  the 
air  effectively.  The  type  of  the  insectean  wing  is  designed, 

then,  simply  to 
strike  the  air. 
But  in  the  bird  the 
wing  plays  also  a 
passive  role,  i.  e., 
12.  Trajectory  of  a  bird's  wing.  it  receives  the  pres- 

sure of  the  air  on  its  under  side  when  the  bird  is  projected 
rapidly  onward  by  its  acquired  swiftness.  In  these  conditions 
the  whole  animal  is  carried  onward  in  space ;  all  the  points  of 
its  wing  have  the  same  velocity.  The  neighboring  regions 


XH  INTRODUCTORY. 

of  the  body  are  useful  to  press  upon  the  air,  which  acts  as  on 
a  paper  kite.  The  base  of  the  wing  also,  in  the  bird,  is  broad, 
and  provided  with  feathers,  which  form  a  broad  surface,  on 
which  the  air  presses  with  a  force  and  method  very  efficacious 
in  supporting  the  bird.  Fig.  12  gives  an  idea  of  this  disposition 
of  the  wing  at  the  active  and  passive  time  in  a  bird. 

The  inner  half  of  the  wing  is  the  passive  part  of  the  organ, 
while  the  external  half,  that  which  strikes  the  air,  is  the  active 
part.  A  fly's  wing  makes  330  revolutions  in  a  second,  executing 
consequently  660  simple  oscillations ;  it  ought  at  each  time  to 
impress  a  lateral  deviation  of  the  body  of  the  insect,  and  destroy 
the  velocity  that  the  preceding  oscillation  has  given  it  in  a  con- 
trary direction. '  So  that  by  this  hypothesis  the  insect  in  its 
'flight  only  utilizes  fifty  to  one  hundred  parts  (or  one-half)  of 
the  resistance  that  the  air  furnishes  it. 

In  the  bird  (Fig.  13),  at  the  time  of  lowering  the  wings, 
the  oblique  plane  which  strikes  the  air, -in  decomposing  the 
resistance,  produces  a  vertical  component  which  resists  the 
weight  of  the  body,  and  a  horizontal  component  which  imparts 
swiftness.  The  horizontal  component  is  not  lost,  but  is  utilized 
during  the  rise  of  the  wing,  as  in  a  paper  kite  when  held  in  the 


13.    A  bird  on  the  wing. 

air  against  the  wind.  Thus  the  bird  utilizes  seventy-five  out 
of  one  hundred  parts  of  the  resistance  that  the  air  furnishes. 
The  style  of  flight  of  birds  is,  therefore,  theoretically  superior 
to  that  of  insects.  As  to  the  division  of  the  muscular  force 
between  the  resistance  of  the  air  and  the  mass  of  the  body  of 
the  bird,  we  should  compare  the  exertion  made  in  walking  on 


THE  SENSES  OF  INSECTS.  XIH 

sand,  for  example,  as  c6mpared  with  walking  on  marble.  This 
is  easy  to  measure.  When  a  fish  strikes  the  water  with  its  tail 
to  propel  itself  forward,  it  performs  a  double  task;  one  part 
consists  in  pushing  backwards  a  certain  mass  of  water  with  a 
certain  swiftness,  and  the  other  in  pushing  on  the  body  in  spite 
of  the  resistance  of  the  surrounding  fluid.  This  last  portion 
of  the  task  only  is  utilized.  It  would  be  greater  if  the  tail  of 
the  fish  encountered  a  solid  object.  Almost  all  the  propelling 
agencies  employed  in  navigation  undergo  this  loss  of  labor, 
which  depends  on  the  mobility  of  the  point  d'  appui.  The  bird  is 
placed  among  conditions  especially  unfavorable. 

The  Senses  of  Insects.  The  eyes  of  insects  ar>e  sometimes 
so  large  as  to  envelop  the  head  like  an  Elizabethan  ruffle,  and 
the  creature's  head,  as  in  the  common  house  fly,  seems  all  eyes. 
And  this  is  almost  literally  the  case,  as  the  two  great  staring 
eyes  that  almost  meet  on  the  top  of  the  head  to  form  one,  are 
made  up  of  myriads  of  simple  eyes.  Each  facet  or  simple  eye 
is  provided  with  a  nerve  filament  which  branches  off  from  the 
main  optic  nerve,  so  that  but  one  impression  of  the  object  per- 
ceived is  conveyed  to  the  brain ;  though  it  is  taught  by  some 
that  objects  appear  not  only  double  but  a  thousand  times  mul- 
tiplied. But  we  should  remember  that  with  our  two  eyes  we 
see  double  only  when  the  brain  is  diseased.  Besides  the  large 
ordinary  compound  eyes,  many  insects  possess  small,  simple 
eyes,  like  those  of  the  spider.  The  great  German  anatomist, 
Johannes  Muller,  believed  that  the  compound  eyes  were  adapted 
for  the  perception  of  distant  objects,  while  those  nearer  are 
seen  by  the  simple  eyes.  But  it  may  be  objected  to  this  view 
that  the  spiders,  which  have  only  simple  eyes,  apparently  see 
both  near  and  remote  objects  as  well  as  insects. 

The  sense  of  touch  is  diffused  all  over  the  body.  As  in  the 
hairs  of  the  head  and  face  of  man,  those  of  insects  are  delicate 
tactile  organs;  and  on  the  antennae  and  legs  (insects  depend- 
ing on  this  sense  rather  than  that  of  sight)  these  appendages 


XIV  INTRODUCTORY. 

are  covered  with  exquisitely  fine  hairs.  •  It  is  thought  by  some 
that  the  senses  of  hearing  and  smell  are  lodged  in  the  antennae, 
these  organs  thus  combining  the  sense  of  feeling  with  those  of 
hearing  and  smelling.  And  the  researches  of  anatomists  lend 
much  probability  to  the  assertion,  since  little  pits  just  under 
the  skin  are  found,  and  even  sometimes  provided  with  grains 
of  sand  in  the  so-called  ear  of  the  lobster,  etc.,  corresponding 
to  the  ear  bones  of  the  higher  animals,  the  pits  being  con- 
nected with  nerves  leading  to  the  brain.  We  have  detected 
similar  pits  in  the  under  side  of  the  palpi  of  the  Perla.  It  seems 
not  improbable  that  these  are  organs  of  smell,  and  placed 
in  that  part  of  the  appendage  nearest  the  mouth,  so  as  to  enable 
the  insect  to  select  its  proper  food  by  its  odor.  Similar  organs 
exist  on  the  caudal  appendages  of  a  kind  of  fly  (Chrysopila), 
while  the  long,  many -jointed  caudal  filaments  of  the  cockroach 
are  each  provided  with  nearly  a  hundred  of  these  little  pits, 
which'seem  to  be  so  many  noses.  Thus  Lespes,  a  Swiss  anato- 
mist, in  his  remarks  on  the  auditory  sacs,  which  he  says  are 
found  in  the  antenna  of  nearly  all  insects,  declares  that  as  we 
have  in  insects  compound  eyes,  so  we  have'  compound  ears. 
We  might  add  that  in  the  abdominal  appendage  of  the  cock- 
roach we  have  a  compound  nose,  while  in  the  feelers  of  the 
Perla,  and  the  caudal  appendage  of  the  Chrysopila,  the  "nose" 
is  simple.  We  might  also  refer  here  to  Siebold's  discovery  of 
ears  at  the  base  of  the  abdomen  of  some,  and  in  the  forelegs  of 
other  kinds,  of  grasshoppers.  Thus  we  need  not  be  surprised 
at  finding  ears  and  noses  scattered,  as  it  were,  sometimes 
almost  wantonly  over  the  bodies  of  insects  (in  many  worms  the 
eyes  are  found  all  over  the  body),  while  in  man  and  his  allies, 
from  the  monkey  down  to  the  fish,  the  ears  and  nose  invariably 
retain  the  same  relative  place  in  the  head. 

How  Insects  Grow.  When  beginning  our  entomological  studies 
no  fact  seemed  more  astonishing  to  our  boyish  mind  than  the 
thought  that  the  little  flies  and  midges  were  not  the  sons  and 


HOW  INSECTS   GROW. 


XV 


daughters  of  the  big  ones.    If  every  farmer  and  gardener  knew 

this  single  fact  it  would  be  worth  their  while.     The  words  larva 

and  pupa  will  frequently  occur  in  subsequent 

pages,  and  they  should  be   explained.     The 

caterpillar  (JFig.  14,  a)  represents  the  earliest 

stage  or  babyhood  of  the  butterfly,  and  it  is 

called  larva,  from  the  Latin,  meaning  a  mask, 

because  it  was  thought  by  the  ancients  to  mask 

the  form  of  the  adult  butterfly. 

When  the  caterpillar  has  ended  its  riotous 
life,  for  its  appetite  almost  transforms  its  be- 
ing into  the  very  incarnation  of  gluttony,  it 
suddenly,  as  if  repenting  of  its  former  life  as  a 

Ion  vivant,  seeks  a  solitary  cell  or  hole  where  !*•  o  Larva,  6  chrys- 
alis of  a  butterfly, 
like  a  hermit  it  sits  and  leads  apparently  about 

as  useless  an  existence.  But  meanwhile  strange  processes 
are  going  on  beneath  the  skin;  and  after  a  few  convulsive 
struggles  the  back  splits  open,  and  out  wriggles  the  chrysalis, 
a  gorgeous,  mummy-like  form,  its  body  adorned  with  golden 
and  silvery  spots.  Hence  the  word  chrysalis  (Fig.  14,  &),  from 
the  Greek,  meaning  golden,  while  the  Latin  word  pupa,  meaning 
a  baby  or  doll,  is  indicative  of  its  youth.  In  this  state  it  hangs 
suspended  to  a  twig  or  other  object ;  while  the  silk  worm,  and 

others  of  its  kind,  previ- 
ous to  moulting,  or  cast- 
ing their  skins,  spin  a 
silken  cocoon,  which  en- 
velops and  protects  the 
chrysalis. 

At  the  given  time,  and 
15.    Imago  or  adult  Butterfly.  after    the    body    of   the 

adult  has  fully  formed  beneath  the  chrysalis  skin,  there  is  an- 
other moult,  and  the  butterfly,  with  baggy,  wet  wings,  creeps 
out.  The  body  dries,  the  skin  hardens,  the  wings  expand,  and 


XVI 


INTRODUCTORY. 


in  a  few  moments,  sometimes  an  hour,  the  butterfly  (Fig.  15) 
proudly  sails  aloft,  the  glory  and  pride  of  the  insect  world. 

We  shall  see  in  the  ensuing  chapters  how  varied  are  the  larvse 
and  pupae  of  insects,  and  under  what  different  guises  insects  live 
in  their  early  stages. 


Larva,  pupa,  and  adult  of  a  Leaf  Beetle  (Galeruca). 


OUR   COMMON   INSECTS. 

CHAPTER   I. 

THE    HOME    OF    THE    BEES. 

THE  history  of  the  Honey  bee,  its  wonderful  instincts,  its 
elaborate  cells  and  complex  economy,  have  engrossed  the  atten- 
tion of  the  best  observers,  even  from  the  time  of  Virgil,  who 
sang  of  the  Ligurian  bee.  The  literature  of  the  art  of  bee- 
keeping is  already  very  extensive.  Numerous  be"e  journals  and 
manuals  of  bee-keeping  testify  to  the  importance  of  this  art, 
while  able  mathematicians  have  studied  the  mode  of  formation 
of  the  hexagonal  cells,*  and  physiologists  have  investigated 
the  intricate  problems  of  the  mode  of  generation  and  develop- 
ment of  the  bee  itself. 

In  discussing  these  difficult  questions,  we  must  rise  from  the 
study  of  the  simple  to  the  complex,  remembering  that — 

"All  nature  widens  upward.    Evermore 
The  simpler  essence  lower  lies : 
More  complex  is  more  perfect  —  owning  more 
Discourse,  more  widely  wise," 

and  not  forget  to  study  the  humbler  allies  of  the  Honey  bee. 
We  shall,  in  observing  the  habits  and  homes  of  the  wild  bees, 
gain  a  clearer  insight  into  the  mysteries  of  the  hive. 

The  great  family  of  bees  is  divided  into  social  and  solitary 
species.  The  social  kinds  Iiv6  in  nests  composed  of  numerous 
cells  in  which  the  young  brood  are  reared.  These  cells  vary  in 
form  from  those  which  are  quite  regularly  hexagonal,  like  those 
of  the  Hive  bee,  to  those  which  are  less  regularly  six-sided, 
as  in  the  stingless  bee  of  the  tropics  (Melipona),  until  in  the 
Humble  bee  the  cells  are  isolated  and  cylindrical  in  form. 

*  The  cells  are  not  perfectly  hexagonal.  See  the  studies  on  the  formation 
of  the  cells  of  the  bee,  by  Professor  J.  Wyman,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  Boston,  1866;  and  the  author's 
Guide  to  the  Study  of  Insects,  p  123. 

(17) 


18  THE  HOME   OF   THE   BEES. 

Before  speaking  of  the  wild  bees,  let  us  briefly  review  the  life 
of  the  Honey  bee.  The  queen  bee  having  wintered  over  with 
many  workers,  lays  her  eggs  in  the  spring,  first  in  the  worker, 
and,  at  a  later  period,  in  the  drone-cells.  Early  in  the  summer 
the  workers  construct  the  large,  flask-shaped  queen-cells,  which 
are  placed  on  the  edge  of  the  comb,  and  in  these  the  queen  larvre 
are  fed  with  rich  and  choice  food.  The  old  queen  deserts  the 
nest,  forming  a  new  colony.  The  new-born  queen  takes  her  mar- 
riage flight  high  in  the  air  with  a  drone,  and  on  her  return  under- 
takes the  management  of  the  hive,  and  the  duty  of  laying  eggs. 
When  the  supply  of  queens  is  exhausted,  the  workers  destroy  the 
drones.  The  first  brood  of  workers  live  about  six  weeks  in 
summer,  and  then  give  way  to  a  new  brood.  The  queens,  ac- 
cording to  Von  Berlepsch,  are  known  to  live  five  years,  and 
during  their  whole  life  lay  more  than  a  million  eggs. 

In  the  tropics,  the  Honey  bee  is  replaced  by  the  Meliponas 
and  Trigonas.  They  are  minute,  stingless  bees,  which  store  up 
honey  and  live  in  colonies  often  of  immense  extent.  The  cells 
of  Melipona  are  hexagonal,  nearly  approaching  in  regularity 
those  of  the  Hive  bee,  while  the  honey  cells  are  irregular,  being 
much  larger  cavities,  which  hold  about  one-half  as  much  honey 
as  a  cell  of  the  Humble  bee.  "  Gardner,  in  his  travels,  states 
that  many  species  of  Melipona  build  in  the  hollow  trunks  of 
trees,  others  in  banks;  some  suspend  their  nests  from  the 
branches  of  trees,  whilst  one  species  constructs  its  nest  of  clay, 
jt  being  of  large  size."  (F.  Smith.) 

In  a  nest  of  the  coal-black  Trigona  (Trigona  carbonaria),  from 
eastern  Australia,  Mr.  F.  Smith,  of  the  British  Museum,  found 
from  four  hundred  to  five  hundred  dead  workers,  but  no  females. 
The  combs  were  arranged  precisely  similar  to  those  of  the  com- 
mon wasp.  The  number  of  honey-pots  which  were  placed  at 
the  foot  of  the  nest  was  two  hundred  and  fifty.  Mr.  Smith  in- 
clines to  the  opinion  that  the  hive  of  Trigona  contains  several 
prolific  females,  as  the  great  number  of  workers  can  only  be 
thus  explained,  and  M.  Gueriu  found  six  females  in  a  nest  of  the 
Tawny-footed  Melipona  (M.  fulvipes). 

At  home,  our  nearest  ally  of  the  true  Honey  bee,  is  the  Hum- 
ble bee  (Bombus),  of  which  over  forty  species  are  known  to 
inhabit  North  America. 

The  economy  of  the  Humble  bee  is  thus :  the  queen  awakens 
in  early  spring  from  her  winter's  sleep  under  leaves  or  moss, 


THE   HUMBLE   BEE.  19 

or  in  the  last  year's  nest,  and  selects  a  nesting  place,  gener- 
ally in  an  abandoned  nest  of  a  field-mouse,  or  beneath  a  stump 
or  sod,  and  "  immediately,"  according  to  Mr.  F.  W.  Putnam,* 
"collects  a  small  amount  of  pollen  mixed  with  honey,  and  in 
this  deposits  from  seven  to  fourteen  eggs,  gradually  adding  to 
the  pollen  mass  until  the  first  brood  is  hatched.  She  does  not 
wait,  however,  for  one  brood  to  be  hatched  before  laying  the 
eggs  of  another,  but,  as  soon  as  food  enough  has  been  collected, 
she  lays  the  eggs  for  a  second.  The  eggs  are  laid,  in  contact 
with,  each  other,  in  one  cavity 
of  the  mass  of  pollen,  with  a 
part  of  which  they  are  slightly 
covered.  They  are  very  soon 
developed  ;  in  fact,  the  lines  are 
nowhere  distinctly  drawn  be- 
tween the  egg  and  the  larva, 
the  larva  and  pupa,  and  again 

between  the  latter  and  the  ima-         15.  Cell  and  Eggs  of  Bombus. 
go;   a  perfect  series,  showing  this  gradual  transformation  of 
the  young  to  the  imago  can  be  found  in  almost  every  nest. 

"As  soon  as  the  larvae  are  capable  of  motion  and  commence 
feeding,  they  eat  the  pollen  by  which  they  are  surrounded,  and, 
gradually  separating,  push  their  way  in  various  directions. 
Eating  as  they  move,  and  increasing  in  size  quite  rapidly,  they 
soon  make  large  cavities  in  the  pollen  mass.  When  they  have 
attained  their  full  size,  they  spin  a  silken  wall  about  them,  which 
is  strengthened  by  the  old  bees  covering  it  with  a  thin  layer  of 
wax,  which  soon  becomes  hard  and  tough,  thus  forming  a  cell 
(Fig.  15,  1,  cell  containing  a  larva,  on  top  of  which  (2)  is  a  pol- 
len mass  containing  three  eggs).  The  larvae  now  gradually  at- 

*  Notes  on  the  Habits  of  the  Humble  Bee  (Proceedings  of  the  Essex  Insti- 
tute, vol.  iv,  1864,  p.  101). 

Mr.  Angus  also  writes  us  as  follows  concerning  the  habits  of  the  Wan- 
dering Humble  bee  (Bombus  vagans):  "I  have  found  the  males  plentiful 
near  our  garden  fence,  within  a  hole  such  as  would  be  made  by  a  mouse. 
They  seem  to  be  quite  numerous.  I  was  attracted  to  it  by  the  noise  they 
were  making  in  fanning  at  the  opening.  I  counted  at  one  time  as  many 
as  seven  thus  employed,  and  the  sound  could  be  heard  several  yards  off. 
Several  males  were  at  rest,  but  mostly  on  the  wing,  when  they  would  make 
a  dash  among  the  fanners,  and  all  would  scatter  and  play  about.  The 
workers  seem  to  be  of  a  uniform  size,  and  full  as  large  as  the  males.  I 
think  the  object  of  the  fanning  was  to  introduce  air  into  the  nest,  as  is  done 
by  the  Honey  bees." 


20  THE  HOME   OF  THE  BEES. 

tain  the  pupa  stage,  and  remain  inactive  until  their  full  develop- 
ment. They  then  cut  their  way  out,  and  are  ready  to  assume 
their  duties  as  workers,  small  females,  males  or  queens. 

"It  is  apparent  that  the  irregular  disposition  of  the  cells  is 
due  to  their  being  constructed  so  peculiarly  by  the  larvae.  After 
the  first  brood,  composed  of  workers,  has  come  forth,  the  queen 
bee  devotes  her  time  principally  to  her  duties  at  home,  the 
workers  supplying  the  colony  with  honey  and  pollen.  As  the 
queen  continues  prolific,  more  workers  are  added,  and  the  nest 
is  rapidly  enlarged. 

"About  the  middle  of  summer,  eggs  are  deposited,  which 
produce  both  small  females  and  males."  .  .  .  ."All  eggs  laid 
after  the  last  of  July  produce  the  large  females,  or  queens,  and, 
the  males  being  still  in  the  nest,  it  is  presumed  that  the  queens 
are  impregnated  at  this  time,  as  on  the  approach  of  cold  weather 
all  except  the  queens,  of  which  there  are  several  in  each  nest, 
die." 

While  the  Humble  bee  in  some  respects  shows  much  less 
instinct  than  the  solitary  bees  mentioned  below,  it  stands  higher 
in  the  series,  however,  from  having  workers,  as  well  as  males 
and  females,  who  provide  food  for  the  young.  The  labors  of 
the  Mason  bees,  and  their  allies,  terminate  after  the  cell  is  once 
constructed  and  filled  with  pollen.  The  eggs  are  then  left  to 
hatch,  and  the  young  care  for  themselves,  though  the  adult  bee 
shows  greater  skill  in  architecture  than  the  Humble  bee.  It  is 
thus  throughout  nature.  Many  forms,  comparatively  low  in  the 
scale  of  life,  astonish  us  with  certain  characters  or  traits,  remind- 
ing us  of  beings  much  superior,  physically  and  intellectually. 
The  lower  forms  constantly  reach  up 
and  in  some  way  ally  themselves  with 
creatures  far  more  highly  organized. 
Thus  the  fish-like  seal  reminds  us 
strikingly  of  the  clog,  both  in  the  form 
of  the  head,  in  its  docility  and  great  in- 
telligence when  tamed,  and  even  in  its 
bark  and  the  movements  of  the  head. 
The*  parasites  of  the  Humble  bee  are 
numerous.  Such  are  the  species  of 
16.  Meloe.  Apathus,  which  so  closely  resembles 

the  Humble  bee  itself,  that  it  requires  long  study  to  distinguish 
it  readily.  Its  habits  are  not  known,  other  than  that  it  is  found 


THE  CARPENTER  BEE.  21 

in  the  nests  of  its  host.  It  differs  from  the  Humble  bee  in  having 
no  pollen-basket,  showing  that  its  larvae  must  feed  on  the  food 
stored  up  by  their  host,  as  it  does  not  itself  collect  it.  The 
mandibles  also  are  not,  like  those  of  Bombus,  trowel-shaped  for 
architectural  purposes,  but  acutely  triangular,  and  are  probably 
not  used  in  building. 

Tlie  caterpillars  of  various  moths  consume  the  honey  and 
waxen  cells ;  the  two- winged  flies,  Volucella  and  Conops,  and 
the  larva?  of  what  is  either  an  Anthomyia  or  Tachina-like  fly, 
and  several  species  of  another  genus  of  flies,  Anthrax,  together 
with  several  beetles,  such  as  the  Meloe  (Fig.  16),  Stylops  (Fig. 
17,  male;  18&,  female;  a,  position  in  the  body  of  its  host),  and 
Antherophagus  prey  upon  them. 

The  power  of  boring  the  most  symmetrical  tunnels  in  solid 
wood  reaches  its  perfection  in  the  large  Virginian  Carpenter  bee 


17.  Male  Stylops. 

(Xylocopa  Virginica,  Fig.  19).  This  bee  is  as  large  as,  and  some 
allied  exotic  species  are  often  considerably  larger  than,  the  Hum- 
ble bee,  but  not  clothed  with  such  dense  hairs.  We  have  received 
from  Mr.  James  Angus,  of  West  Farms,  N.  Y.,  a  piece  of  trellis 
from  a  grape  vine,  made  of  pine  wood,  containing  the  cells  and 
young  in  various  stages  of  growth,  together  with  the  larva?  and 
chrysalids  of  Anthrax  sinuosa  (Fig.  20),  a  species  of  fly  parasitic 
on  the  larva.  The  maggot  buries  its  head  in  the  soft  body  of 
the  young  bee  and  feeds  on  its  juices. 

Mr.  Angus  thus  writes  us  regarding  its  habits,  under  date  of 
July  19 :  "I  asked  an  intelligent  and  observing  carpenter  yes- 
terday, if  he  knew  how  long  it  took  the  Xylocopa  to  bore  her 
tunnel.  He  said  he  thought  she  bored  about  one-quarter  of  an 


22 


THE  HOME   OF  THE  BEES. 


inch  a  day.  I  don't  think  myself  she  bores  more  than  one-half 
inch,  if  she  does  that.  If  I  mistake  not,  it  takes  her  about  two 

days  to  make  her  own  length  at 
the  iirst  start;  but  this  being 
across  the  grain  of  the  wood, 
may  not  be  so  easily  done  as  the 
remainder,  which  runs  parallel 
with  it.  She  always  follows  the 
grain  of  the  wood,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  entrance,  which 
is  about  her  own  length.  The 
tunnels  run  from  one  to  one  and 
a  half  feet  in  length.  They  gen- 
erally run  in  opposite  directions 
from  the  opening,  and  sometimes 
other  galleries  are  run,  one  di- 
rectly above  the  other,  using  the 

same  opening.    I  think  they  only 
18.  Female  Stylops.  mftke  n(JW  tunnels  when  old  ones 

are  not  to  be  found,  and  that  the  same  tunnels  are  used  for  many 
years.  Some  of  the  old  tunnels  are  very  wide.  I  have  found 
parts  of  them  about  an  inch  in  diameter.  I  think  this  is  caused 
by  rasping  off  the  sides  to  procure  the  necessary  material  for 
constructing  their  cells.  The  partitions  are  composed  of  wood 
raspings,  and  some  sticky  fluid,  probably  saliva,  to  make  them 
adhere. 

"  The  tunnels  are  sometimes  taken  possession  of  by  other  bees 
and  wasps.  I  think  when  this  is  the  case,  the  Xylocopa  prefers 
making  a  new  cell,  to  cleaning 
out  the  dirt  and  rubbish  of  the 
other  species.  I  frequently  find 
these  bees  remaining  for  a  long 
time  on  the  wing  close  to  the 
opening,  and  bobbing  their 
heads  against  the  side,  as  if 
fanning  air  into  the  opening.  I 
have  seen  them  thus  employed 
for  twenty  minutes.  Whether 
one  bee  or  more  makes  the  tun-  19-  Carpenter  Bee. 

nel,  that  is,  whether  they  take  turns  in  boring,  I  cannot  at 
present  say.  In  opening  the  cella  (Fig.  21),  more  than  one  are 


THE   CARPENTER   BEE.  23 

generally  found,  even  at  this  season.     About  two  weeks  ago,  I 
found  as  many  as  seven,  I  think,  in  one."  * 

The  hole  is  divided  by  partitions  into  cells  about  seven-tenths 
of  an  inch  long.  These  partitions  are  constructed  of  the  coarse 
dust  or  chippings  made  by  the  bee  in 
eating  put  her  cells,  for  our  active  little 
carpenter  is  provided  with  strong  cut- 
ting jaws,  moved  by  powerful  muscles, 
and  on  her  legs  are  stiff  brushes  of  hair 
for  cleaning  out  the  tunnel  as  she  de- 
scends into  the  heart  of  the  solid  wood, 
She  must  throw  out  the  chips  she  bite§ 
off  with  her  powerful  mandibles  from 
the  sides  of  the  burrow,  by  means  of  her 
hind  legs,  passing  the  load  of  chips  back- 
wards out  of  the  cell  with  her  fore  limbs, 

which   she  uses  as 

hands. 
The    partitions    are 

built  most  elaborately 

of  a  single   flattened 

band  of  chips,  which 

is  rolled  up  into  a  coil 

four  layers  deep.    One 

side,  forming  the  bot- 
20.  Larva  and  Pupa  torn  of  the  cell,  is  con- 
of  Anthrax,  cave,  being  beaten 
down  and  smoothed  off  by  the  bee.  The 
other  side  of  the  partition,  forming  the 
top  of  the  cell,  is  flat  and  rough. 

At  the  time  of  opening  the  burrow, 
July  8th,  the  cells  contained  nearly  full- 
grown  larvaB,  with  some  half  developed. 
They  were  feeding  on  the  masses  of 
pollen,  which  were  as  large  as  a  thick  kid- 
ney bean,  and  occupied  nearly  half  the 
celL  The  larvre  (Fig.  21)  resemble  those  21-  Nest  of  Carpenter  Bee. 
of  the  Humble  bee,  but  are  slenderej*,  tapering  more  rapidly 
towards  each  end  of  the  body. 

*  "  Since  writing  the  above  I  have  opened  one  of  the  new  holes  of  Xylo- 
copa,  which  was  commenced  between  three  and  four  weeks  ago,  in  a  pine 


**  THE  HOME    OF   THE   BEES. 

The  habits  and  structure  of  the  little  green  Ceratina  ally  it 
closely  with  Xylocopa.  This  pretty  bee,  named  Ceratina  dupla 
by  Mr.  Say,  tunnels  out  the  stems  of  the  elder  or 
blackberry,  syringa,  or  any  pithy  shrub,  excavating 
them  often  to  a  depth  of  six  or  seven  inches.  She 
makes  the  walls  just  wide  enough  to  admit  her 
body,  and  of  a  depth  capable  of  holding  three  or 
four,  often  five  or  six  cells  (Fig.  22).  The  finely 
built  cells,  with  their  delicate  silken  walls,  are 
cylindrical  and  nearly  square  at  each  end,  though 
the  free  end  of  the  last  cell  is  rounded  off.  They 
are  four  and  a  half  tenths  of  an  inch  long,  and  a  lit- 
tle over  one-third  as  broad.  The  bee  places  them 
at  nearly  equal  distances  apart,  the  slight  interval 
between  them  being  filled  in  with  dirt. 

Dr.  T.  W.  Harris  states  that  May  15,  1832,  one 
female  laid  its  eggs  in  the  hollow  of  an  aster  stalk. 
Three  perfect  insects  were  disclosed  from  it  July 
28th.     The  observations  of  Mr.  Angus,  who  saw 
some  bees  making  their  cells  May  18th,  also  con- 
firm this  account.    The  history  of  our  little  uphol- 
sterer is  thus  cleared  up.     Late  in  the  spring  she 
builds  her  cells,  fills  them  with  pollen,  and  lays  one 
or  more  eggs  upon  each  mass.      Thus  in  about  two 
Ceratina.      months  the  insect  completes  its  transformations ; 
within  this   period  %  passing   through    the    egg,  the  larva  and 
chrysalid  states,  and  then,  as  a  bee,  living  a  few  days  more,  if  a 

slat  used  in  the  staging  of  the  greenhouse.  The  dimensions  were  as  fol- 
lows :  —  Opening  fully  3-8  wide ;  depth  7-16 ;  whole  length  of  tunnel  6  5-16 
inches.  The  tunnel  branched  both  ways  from  the  hole.  One  end,  from 
opening,  was  2  5-8,  containing  three  cells,  two  with  larva  and  pollen,  the 
third  empty.  The  other  side  of  the  opening,  or  the  rest  of  the  tunnel, 
was  empty,  with  the  exception  of  the  old  bee  (only  one)  at  work.  I  think 
this  was  the  work  of  one  bee,  and,  as  near  as  I  can  judge,  about  twenty- 
five  days'  work.  Width  of  tunnel  inside  at  widest  9-16  inch. 

I  have  just  found  a  Xylocopa  bobbing  at  one  of  the  holes,  and  in  order  to 
ascertain  the  depth  of  the  tunnel,  and  to  see  whether  there  were  any  others 
in  them,  I  sounded  with  a  pliable  rod,  and  found  others  in  one  side,  at  a 
depth  of  five  and  one  half  inches;  the  other  side  was  four  inches  deep 
without  bees.  The  morning  w*as  cool,  so  that  the  object  in  bobbing  could 
not  have  been  to  introduce  fresh  currents  of  air,  but  must  have  had  some 
relation  to  those  inside.  Their  legs  on  such  occasions  are,  as  I  have 
noticed,  loaded  with  pollen." 


THE   CARPENTER   BEE. 


26 


23.  Larva  of  Ceratina. 


male ;  or  if  a  female,  living  through  the  winter.    Her  life  thus 

spans  one  year. 

The  larva  (Fig.  23)  is  longer  than  that  of  Megachile,  and  com- 
pared with  that  of  Xylocopa,  the  different  segments  are  much 

more  convex,  giving  a  serrate  outline 

to  the  back  of  the  worm.     The  pupa, 

or  chrysalis,  we  have  found  in  the 

cells  the  last  of  July.      It  is  white, 

and  three-tenths  of  an  inch  long.     It 

differs  from  that  of  the  Leaf-cutter  bee  in  having  four  spines  on 

the  end  of  the  body. 
In  none  of  the  wild  bees  are  the  cells  constructed  with  more 

nicety  than  those  of  our  little  Ceratiua.     She  bores  out  with 

her  jaws  a  long  deep  well  just  the  size  of  her  body,  and  then 
stretches  a  thin,  delicate  cloth  of  silk 
drawn  tight  as  a  drum-head  across  each 
end  of  her  chambers,  which  she  then  fills 
with  a  mixture  of  pollen  and  honey. 


25.  Tailor  Bee. 

Her  young   are  not,  in  this  supposed 
retreat,  entirely  free   from  danger.    The 
most  invidious  foes  enter  and  attack  the 
brood.     Three  species  of  Ichneumon  flies, 
24.  Nest  of  Tailor  Bee.    two  of  which  belong  to  the  Chalcid  fam- 
ily, lay  their  eggs  within  the  body  of  the  larva,  and  emerge 
from  the  dried  larva  and  pupa  skins  of  the  bee,  often  in  great 
numbers.    The  smallest  parasite,  belonging  to  the  genus  Antlio- 
phorabia,  so  called  from  being  first  known  as  a  parasite  on 
another  bee  (Anthophora),  is  a  minute  species  found  also  abun- 
dantly in  the  tight  cells  of  the  Leaf-cutter  bee. 
3 


26  THE  HOME   OF   THE  BEES. 

The  interesting  habits  of  the  Leaf- cutting,  or  Tailor  bee 
(Megachile),  have  always  attracted  attention.  This  bee  is  a 
stout,  thick-bodied  insect,  with  a  large,  square  head,  stout, 
sharp,  scissors-like  jaws,  and  with  a  thick  mass  of  stout,  dense 
hairs  on  the  under  side  of  the  tail  for  carrying  pollen,  as  she  is 
not  provided  with  the  pollen-basket  of  the  Honey  and  Humble 
bees. 

The  Megachile  lays  its  eggs  in  burrows  in  the  stems  of  the 
elder  (Fig.  24),  which  we  have  received  from  Mr.  James  Angus ; 
we  have  also  found  them  in  the  hollows  of  the  locust  tree.  Mr. 
F.  W.  Putnam  thus  speaks  of  the  economy  of  M.  ceutuncularis, 
our  most  common  species.  "  My  attention  was  first  called,  on 
the  26th  of  June,  to"  a  female  busily  engaged  in  bringing  pieces 
of  leaf  to  her  cells,  which  she  was  building  under  a  board,  on 
the  roof  of  the  piazza,  directly  under  my  window.  Nearly  the 
whole  rnorning  was  occupied  by  the  bee  in  bringing  pieces  of 
leaf  from  a  rose  bush  growing  about  ten  yards  from  her  cells, 
returning  at  intervals  of  a  half  minute  to  a  minute  with  the 
pieces,  which  she  carried  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  impede 
her  steps  when  she  alighted  near  her  hole."  When  the  Leaf- 
cutter  bee  wishes  to  cut  out  a  piece  of  a  leaf  (Fig.  25)  she  alights 
upon  the  leaf,  and  in  a  few  seconds  swiftly  runs  her  scissors- 
like  jaws  around  through  it,  bearing  off  the  piece  in  her  hind 
legs.  "  About  noon  she  had  probably  completed  the  cell,  upon 
which  she  had  been  engaged,  as,  during  the  afternoon,  she  was 
occupied  in  bringing  pollen,  preparatory  to  laying  her  single 
egg  in  the  cell.  -For  about  twenty  days  the  bee  continued  at 
work,  building  new  cells  and  supplying  them  with  pollen.  .  .  . 
On  the  28th  of  July,  upon  removing  the  board,  it  was  found  that 
the  bee  had  made  thirty  cells,  arranged  in  nine  rows  of  unequal 
length,  some,  being  slightly  curved  to  adapt  them  to  the  space 
under  the  board.  The  longest  row  contained  six  cells,  and  was 
two  and  three-quarters  inches  in  length ;  the  whole  leaf  struc- 
ture being  equal  to  a  length  of  fifteen  inches.  Upon  making  an 
estimate  of  the  pieces  of  leaf  in  this  structure,  it  was  ascertained 
that  there  must  have  been  at  least  a  thousand  pieces  used.  In 
addition  to  the  labor  of  making  the  cplls,  this  bee,  unassisted 
in  all  her  duties,  had  to  collect  the  requisite  amount  of  pollen 
(and  honey  ?)  for  each  cell,  and  lay  her  eggs  therein,  when  com- 
pleted. Upon  carefully  cutting  out  a  portion  of  one  of  the  cells, 
a  full-grown  larva  was  seen  engaged  in  spinning  a  slight  silken 


THE  MASON    BEE.  27 

cocoon  about  the  walls  of  its  prison,  which  were  quite  hard  and 
smooth  on  the  inside,  probably  owing  to  the  movements  of  the 
larva,  and  the  consequent  pressing  of  the  sticky  particles  to  the 
walls.  In  a  short  time  the  opening  made  was  closed  over  by  a 
very  thin  silken  web.  The  cells,  measured  on  the  inside  of  the 
hard  walls,  were  .35  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  .15  in  diameter. 
The  natural  attitude  of  the  larva  is  somewhat  curved  in  its  cell, 
but  if  straightened,  it  just  equals  the 
inside  length  of  the  cell.  On  the  31st 
of  July,  two  female  bees  came  out, 
having  cut  their  way  through  the  sides 
of  their  cells."  In  three  other  cells 
"  several  hundred  minute  Ichneumons 
(Anthophorabia  megachilis)  were 
seen,  which  came  forth  as  soon  as  the 
cells  were  opened." 

The  habits  of  the  little  blue  or  green 
Mason  bees  (Osmia)  are  quite  varied. 
They  construct  their  cells  in  the  stems 
of  plants,  and  in  rotten  posts  arid  trees, 
or,  like  Andrena,  they  burrow  in  sunny 
banks.  A  European  species  selects 
snail  shells  for  its  nest,  wherein  it 
builds  its  earthen  cells,  while  other 
species  nidificate  under  stones.  Curtis 
found  two  hundred  and  thirty  cocoons 
of  a  British  species  (Osmia  paretina), 
placed  on  the  under  side  of  aflat  stone, 
of  which  one-third  were  empty.  Of 
the  remainder,  the  most  appeared  be- 
tween March  and  June,  males  appear- 
ing first;  tjiirty-flve  more  bees  were 
developed  the  following  spring.  Thus 
there  were  three  successive  broods,  26.  Nest  of  Osmia 

for  three  succeeding  years,  so  that  these  bees  lived  three  years 
before  arriving  at  maturity.  This  may  partly  account  for  insect 
years,  which  are  like  "apple  years,"  seasons  when  bees  and 
wasps,  as  well  as  other  insects,  abound  in  unusual  numbers 

Mr.  G.  K.  Waterhouse,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Entomo 
logical  Society  of  London,  for  1864,  states  that  the  cells  of 
Osmia  leucomelana  "are  formed  of  mud,  and  each  cell  is  built 


28  THE  HOME   OF   THE   BEES. 

separately.  The  female  bee,  having  deposited  a  small  pellet  of 
mud  in  a  sheltered  spot  between  some  tufts  of  grass,  immedi- 
ately begins  to  excavate  a  small  cavity  in  its  upper  surface, 
scraping  the  mud  away  from  the  centre  towards  the  margin  by 
means  of  her  jaws.  A  small,  shallow  mud-cup  is  thus  produced. 
It  is  rough  and  uneven  on  the  outer  surface,  but  beautifully 
smooth  on  the  inner.  On  witnessing  thus  much  of  the  work 
performed,  I  was  struck  with  three  points :  first,  the  rapidity 
with  which  the  insect  worked;  secondly,  the  tenacity  with 
which  she  kept  her  original  position  whilst  excavating;  and 
thirdly,  her  constantly  going  over  work  which  had  apparently 
been  completed.  .  .  .  The  lid  is  excavated  and  rendered  concave 
on  its  outer  or  upper  surface,  and  is  convex  and  rough  on  its 
inner  surface ;  and,  in  fact,  is  a  simple  repetition  of  the  first- 
formed  portion  of  the  cell,  a  part  of  a  hollow  sphere." 

The  largest  species  of  Osmia  known  to  us  is  a  very  dark-blue 
species  (O.  lignivora).  We  are  indebted  to  a  lady  for  speci- 
mens of  the  bees  with  their  cells,  which  had  been  excavated  in 
the  interior  of  a  maple  tree  several  inches  from  the  bark.  The 
bee  had  industriously  tunnelled  o*ut  this  elaborate  burrow  (Fig. 
26),  and,  in  this  respect,  resembled  the  habits  of  the  Carpenter 
bee  more  closely  than  any  other  species  of  its  genus. 

The  tunnel  was  over  three  inches  long,  and  about  three-tenths 
of  an  inch  wide.  It  contracted  a  little  in  width  between  the 
cell,  showing  that  the  bee  worked  intelligently,  and  wasted  no 
more  of  her  energies  than  was  absolutely  necessary.  The  bur- 
row contained  five  cells,  each  half  an  inch  long,  being  rather 
short  and  broad,  with  the  hinder  end  rounded,  while  the  oppo- 
site end,  next  to  the  one  adjoining,  is  cut  off  squarely.  The  cell 
is  somewhat  jug-shaped,  owing  to  a  slight  constriction  just 
behind  the  mouth.  The  material  of  which  the  cell  is  composed 
is  stout,  silken,  parchment-like,  and  very  smooth  within.  The 
interstices  between  the  cells  are  filled  in  with  rather  coarse 
chippings  made  by  the  bee. 

The  bee  cut  its  way  out  of  the  cells  in  March,  and  lived  for  a 
month  afterwards  on  a  diet  of  honey  and  water.  It  eagerly 
lapped  up  the  drops  of  water  supplied  by  its  keeper,  to  whom  it 
soon  grew  accustomed,  and  seemed  to  recognize. 

Our  smallest  and  most  abundant  species  is  the  little  green 
Osmia  simillima.  It  builds  its  little  oval,  somewhat  urn-shaped 
cells  against  the  roof  of  the  large  deserted  galls  of  the  oak-gall 


THE    MASON   BEE.  29 

fly  (Diplolepis  confluentus),  placing  them,  in  this  instance  eleven 
in  number,  in  two  irregular  rows,  from  which  the  mature  bees 
issue  through  a  hole  in  the  gall  (Fig.  27,  with  two  separate  cells). 
The  earthen  cells,  containing  the  tough  dense  cocoons,  were 
arranged  irregularly  so  as  to  fit  the  concave  vault  of  the  larger 
gall,  which  was  about  two  inches  in  diameter.  On  emerging 
from  the  cell  the  Osmia  cuts  out  with  its  powerful  jaws  an  ovate 
lid,  nearly  as  large  as  one  side  of  the  cell. 

In  the  Harris  collection  are  the  cells  and  specimens  of  Osmia 
pacifica,  the  peaceful  Osmia,  which,  according  to  the  manuscript 


27.  Nest  of  Osmia  in  a  gall. 


notes  of  Dr.  Harris,  is  found  in  tne  perfect  state  in  earthen  cells 
beneath  stones.  The  cell  is  oval  cylindrical,  a  little  contracted 
as  usual  with  those  of  all  the  species  of  the  genus,  thus  forming 
an  urn-shaped  cell.  It  is  half  an  inch  long,  and  nearly  three- 
tenths  of  an  inch  wide,  while  the  cocoon,  which  is  rather  thin, 
is  three-tenths  of  an  inch  long.  We  are  not  acquainted  with 
the  habits  of  the  larva  and  pupa  in  this  country,  but  Mr.  F. 
Smith  states  that  the  larva  of  the  English  species  hatches  in 
eight  days  after  the  eggs  are  laid,  feeds  ten  to  twelve  days,  when 
it  becomes  full-grown,  then  spins  a  thin  silken  covering,  and 
remains  in  an  inactive  state  until  the  following  spring,  when  it 
completes  its  transformations. 


30 


THE  HOME  OF  THE  BEES. 


In  the  economy  of  our  wild  bees  we  see  the  manifestation  of 
a  wonderful  instinct,  as  well  as  the  exhibition  of  a  limited  reason. 
We  can  scarcely  deny  to  animals  a  kind  of  reason  which  appar- 
ently differs  only  in  degree  from  that  of  man.  Each  species 
works  in  a  sphere  limited  by  physical  laws,  but  within  that 
sphere  it  is  a  free  agent.  They  have  enough  of  instinct  and 
reason  to  direct  their  lives,  and  to  enable  them  to  act  their  part 
in  carrying  out  the  plan  of  creation. 


Paper  Wasp. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE    HOME    OF   THE    BEES. 
[Concluded.] 

WHILE  the  Andrena  and  Halictus  bees,  whose  habits  we  now 
describe,  are  closely  allied  in  form  to  the  Hive  tfee,  socially  they 
are  the  "  mud-sills  "  of  bee  society,  ranking  among  the  lowest 
forms  of  the  family  of  bees.  Their  burrowing  habits  ally  them 
with  the  ants,  from  whose  nests  their  own  burrows  can  scarcely 
be  distinguished.  Their  economy  does  not  seem  to  demand  the 
exercise  of  so  much  of  a  true  reasoning  power  and  pliable  in- 
stinct as  characterizes  bees,  such  as  the  Honey  and  Humble  bee, 
which  possess  a  high  architectural  skill.  Moreover  they  are 
not  social ;  they  have  no  *part  in  rearing  and  caring  for  their 
young,  a  fact  that  lends  so  much  interest  to  the  history  of  the 
Hive  and  Humble  bee.  In  this  respect  they  are  far  below  the 
wasps,  a  family  belonging  next  below  in  the  system  of  Nature. 

A  glance  at  the  drawing  (Fig.  28),  of  a  burrow,  with  its  side 
galleries,  of  the  Andreua  vicina,  reveals  the  economy  of  one 
of  our  most  common  forms.  Quite  early  in  spring,  when  the 
sun  and  vernal  breezes  have  dried  up  the  soil,  and  the  fields 
exchange  their  rusty  hues  for  the  rich  green  verdure  of  May, 
our  Andrena,  tired  of  its  idle  life  among  the  blossoms  of  the 
willow,  the  wild  cherry,  and  garden  flowers,  suddenly  becomes 
remarkably  industrious,  and  wields  its  spade-like  jaws  and  busy 
feet  with  a  strange  and  unwonted  energy.  Choosing  some 
sunny,  warm,  grassy  bank  (these  nests  were  observed  in  the 
"great  pasture"  of  Salem),  not  always  with  a  southern  expo- 
sure however,  the  female  sinks  her  deep  well  through  the  sod 
from  six  inches  to  a  foot  into  the  sandy  soil  beneath.  She  goes 
to  work  literally  tooth  and  nail.  Reasoning  from  observations 

(31) 


THE  HOME   OF   THE   BEES. 


Fig.  28. 


Nest  (natural  size)  of  Andrena  vicina, 
showing  the  main  burrow,  and  the 
cells  leading  from  it;  the  oldest  cell 
containing  the  pupa  (a)  is  situated 
nearest  the  surface,  while  those  con- 
taining the  larva  (6)  lie  between  the 
pupa  and  the  coll  (e)  containing  the 
pollen  mass  and  egg  resting  upon  it. 
The  most  recent  cell  (/)  is  the  deep- 
est down,  and  contains  a  freshly 
deposited  pollen  mass.  At  c  is  the 
beginning  of  a  cell;  g,  level  of  the 
ground. 


made  on  several  species  of 
wasps,  and  also  from  studying 
the  structure  of  her  jaws  and 
legs,  it  is  evident  that  she  digs 
in  and  loosens  the  soil  with  her 
powerful  jaws,  and  then  throws 
out  the  dirt  with  her  legs.  She 
uses  her  fore  legs  like  hands,  to 
pass  the  load  of  dirt  to  her  hind 
legs,  and  then  'runs  backward 
out  of  her  hole  to  clump  it  clown 
behind  her.  Mr.  Emerton  tells 
me  that  he  never  saw  a  bee  in 
the  act  of  digging  but  once, 
and  then  she  left  oft'  after  a  few 
strokes.  He  also  says,  "they 
are  harmless  and  inoffensive. 
On  several  occasions  I  have  lain 
on  the  grass  near  their  holes  for 
hours,  but  not  one  attempted  to 
sting  me;  and  when  taken  be- 
tween the  fingers,  they  make  but 
feeble  resistance." 

To  enter  somewhat  into  detail, 
we  gather  from  the  observations 
of  Mr.  Emerton  (who  has  care- 
fully watched  the  habits  of  these 
bees  through  several  seasons) 
the  following  account  of  the 
economy  of  this  bee  :  On  the  4th 
of  May  the  bees  were  seen  dig- 
ging their  holes,  most  of  which 
were  already  two  inches  deep, 
and  one,  six  inches.  The  mounds 
of  earth  were  so  small  as  to  be 
hardly  noticed.  At  this  time 
an  Oil  beetle  was  seen  prowling 
about  the  holes.  The  presence 
of  this  dire  foe  of  Audrena  at  this 
time,  it  will  be  seen  in  a  suc- 
ceeding chapter  on  the  enemies 


THE  GROUND  BEE.  33 

of  the  bees,  is  quite  significant.  By  the  loth  of  May,  hundreds 
of  Andrena  holes  were  found  in  various  parts  of  the  pasture, 
and  at  one  place,  in  a  previous  season,  there  were  about  two 
hundred  found  placed  within  a  small  area.  One  cell  was  dug 
up,  but  it  contained  no  pollen.  Four  days  later,  several  Andre- 
nas  were  noticed  resting  from  their  toil  at  the  opening  of  their 
burrows.  On  the  28th  of  May,  in  unearthing  six  holes,  eight 
cells  were  found  to  contain  pollen,  and  in  two  of  them  a  small 
larva.  The  pellets  of  pollen  are  about  the  size  of  a  small  pea. 
They  are  hard  and  round  at  first,  before  the  young  has  hatched, 
but  as  the  larva  grows,  the  mass  becomes  softer  and  more 
pasty,  so  that  the  larva  buries  its  head  in  the  mass,  and  greedily 
sucks  it  in.  When  is  the  pollen  gathered  by  the  bee  and  kneaded 
into  the  pellet-like  mass?  On  July  4th,  a  cell  was  opened  in 
which  was  a  bee  busily  engaged  preparing  the  pollen,  which  was 
loosely  and  irregularly  piled  up,  while  there  was  a  larva  in  an 
adjoining  cell  nearly  half  an  inch  long.  It  would  seem,  then, 
that  the  bee  comes  in  from  the  fields  laden  with  her  stores  of 
pollen,  which  she  elaborates  into  bee  bread  within  her  cell. 

When  the  bee  returns  to  her  cell  she  does  not  directly  fly 
towards  the  entrance,  since,  as  was  noticed  in  a  particular 
instance,  she  flew  about  for  a  long  time  in  all  directions  without 
any  apparent  aim,  until  she  finally  settled  near  the  hole,  and 
walked  into  her  subterranean  retreat.  On  a  rainy  clay,  May 
24th,  our  friend  visited  the  colony,  but  found  no  bees  flying 
about  the  holes.  The  little  Jiillocks  had  been  beaten  down  by 
the  pitiless  raindrops,  and  all  traces  of  their  industry  effaced. 
On  digging  down,  several  bees  were  found,  indicating  that  on 
rainy  days  they  seek  the  shelter  of  their  holes,  and  do  not  take 
refuge  under  leaves  of  the  plants  they  frequent. 

On  the  29th  of  June,  six  full-grown  Iarva3  were  exhumed,  and 
one,  about  half  grown.  On  the  20th  of  July,  the  colony  seemed 
well  organized,  as,  on  laying  open  a  burrow  at  the  depth  of  six 
inches,  he  began  to  find  cells.  The  upper  ones,  to  the  number 
of  a  dozen,  were  deserted  and  filled  with  earth  and  grass  roots, 
and  had  evidently  been  built  and  used  during  the  previous  year. 
Below  these  were  eight  cells  placed  around  the  main  vertical 
gallery,  reaching  down  to  the  depth  of  thirteen  inches,  and  all 
containing  nearly  full-grown  larvae  of  the  bees,  or  else  those  of 
some  parasitic  bee  (Nomada)  which  had  devoured  the  food  pre- 
pared for  the  young  Andrena. 


34:  THE  HOME   OF   THE  BEES. 

About  the  first  of  August  the  larva  transforms  to  a  pupa  or 
chrysalis,  as  at  this  time  two  pupse  were  found  in  cells  a  foot 
beneath  the  surface.  As  shown  in  the  cut,  those  cells  situated 
lowest  down  seem  to  be  the  last  to  have  been  made,  while  the 
eggs  laid  in  the  highest  are  the  first  to  hatch,  and  the  larvae 
disclosed  from  them,  the  first  to  change  to  pupae.  Four  days 
later  the  pupaj  of  Cuckoo  bees  (Nomada)  were  found  in  the 
cells.  No  Andrenas  were  seen  flying  about  at  this  time. 

On  the  24th  of  August,  to  be  still  very  circumstantial  in  our 
narrative  though  at  the  risk  of  being  tedious,  three  burrows 
were  unearthed,  and  in  them  three  fully  formed  bees  were  found 
nearly  ready  to  leave  their  cells,  and  in  addition  several  pupea. 
In  some  other  cells  there  were  three  of  the  parasitic  Nomada 
also  nearly  ready  to  come  out,  which  seemed  to  be  identical 
with  some  bees  noticed  playing  very  innocently  about  the  holes 
early  in  the  summer. 

On  the  last  day  of  August,  very  few  of  the  holes  were  open. 
A  number  of  Oil  beetles  were  strolling  suspiciously  about  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  some  little  black  Ichneumon  flies  were  seen 
running  about  among  the  holes. 

During  midsummer  the  holes  were  found  closed  night  and 
day  by  clods  of  earth. 

The  burrow  is  sunken  perpendicularly,  with  short  passages 
leading  to  the  cells,  which  are  slightly  inclined  downwards  and 
outwards  from  the  main  gallery.  The  walls  of  the  gallery  are 
rough,  but  the  cells  are  lined  with  a  mucous-like  secretion, 
which,  on  hardening,  looks  like  the  glazing  of  earthenware. 
This  glazing  is  quite  hard,  and  breaks  up  into  angular  pieces. 
It  is  evidently  the  work  of  the  bee  herself,  and  is  not  secreted 
and  laid  on  by  the  larva.  The  diameter  of  the  interior  of  the 
cell  is  about  one-quarter  of  an  inch,  contracting  a  little  at  the 
mouth.  When  the  cell  is  taken  out,  the  dirt  adheres  for  a  line 
in  thickness,  so  that  it  is  of  the  size  and  form  of  an  acorn. 

The  larva  of  Andrena  (Fig.  29)  is  soft  and  fleshy,  like  that  of 
the  Honey  bee.  Its  body  is  flattened,  bulging  out  prominently 
at  the  sides,  and  tapering  more  rapidly  than  usual  towards  each 
end  of  the  body.  The  skin  is  very  thin,  so  that  along  the  back 
the  heart  or  dorsal  vessel  maybe  distinctly  seen,  pulsating  about 
sixty  times  a  minute. 

Our  cut  (Fig.  28,  a)  also  represents  the  pupa,  or  chrysalis,  as 
seen  lying  in  its  cell.  The  limbs  are  folded  close  to  the  body 


THE  GROUND   BEE. 


35 


in  the  most  compact  way  possible.  On  the  head  of  the  semi- 
pupa,  i.  e.,  a  transition  state  between  the  larva  and  pupa,  there 
.are  two  prominent  tubercles  situated  behind  the  simple  eyes,  or 
ocelli;  these  are  deciduous  organs,  apparently  aiding  the  insect 
in  moving  about  its  cell.  They  disappear  in  the  mature  pupa. 

To  those  accustomed  to  rearing  butterflies,  and  seeing  the 
chrysalis  at  once  assuming  its  perfected  shape,  after  the  caterpil- 
lar skin  is  thrown  off,  it  may  seem  strange  to  hear  one  speak  of  a 
"half-pupa,"  and  of  stages  intermediate 
between  the  larva  and  pupa.  But  the  ex- 
ternal changes  of  form,  though  rapidl}T 
passed  through,  consisting  apparently  of  a  Fig.  31. 
mere  sloughing  off  of  the  outer  skin,  are 
yet  preceded  by  slow  and  very  gradual 
alterations  of  tissues,  resulting  from  the 
growth  of  cells.  An  inner  layer  of  the 
larva-skin  separates  from  the  outer,  and, 
by  changes  in  the  form  of  the  muscles,  is 
drawn  into  different  positions,  such  as  is 
assumed  by  the  pupa,  which  thus  lies  con- 
cealed beneath  the  larva-skin.  But  a  rig.  29. 
slight  alteration  is  made  in  the  general 
form  of  the  larva,  consisting  mostly  of  an 
enlargement  of  the  thoracic  segments, 
which  is  often  overlooked,  even  by  the 
special  student,  though  of  great  interest 
to  the  philosophic  naturalist. 

From  Mr.  Emerton's  observations  we 
should  judge  that  the  pupa  state  lasted 
from  three  to  four  weeks,  as  the  larvae  Fig.  30. 
began  to  transform  the  first  of  August, 
and  appeared  during  the  last  week  of  the 
same  month  as  perfect  bees. 

The  Andrena  is  seen  as  late  as  the  first   Fig.  31.  Larva  of  Halic- 

tus  parallclus. 

week   in   September,  and   again  early  in    Fig.  29. .Larva  of  Andre- 
April,  about  the  flowers  of  the  willow.   ri^so^Pupa  of  Haiic- 

It  is  one  of  the  largest  of  its  genus  and  a      *us  parallclus   seen 

from  beneath, 
common  species. 

Having,  in  a  very  fragmentary  way,  sketched  the  life  history 
of  our  Andrena,  and  had  some  glimpses  of  its  subterranean  life, 
let  us  now  compare  with  it  another  genus  of  solitary  bee 


36  THE  HOME   OF   THE  BEES. 

(Halictus),  quite  closely  allied  in  all  respects,  though  a  little 
lower  in  the  scale. 

The  Halictus  parallelus  excavates  cells  almost  exactly  like 
those  of  Andrena;  but  since  the  bee  is  smaller,  the  holes  are 
smaller,  though  as  deep.  Mr.  Emerton  found  one  nest  in  a 
path  a  foot  in  depth.  Another  nest,  discovered  September  9th, 
was  about  six  inches  deep.  The  cells  are  in  form  like  those  of 
Andrena,  and  like  them,  are  glazed  within.  The  egg  is  rather 
slenderer  and  much  curved;  in  form  it  is  long,  cylindrical, 
obtuse  at  one  end,  and  much  smaller  at  the  other.  The  larva 
(Fig.  31)  is  longer  and  slenderer,  being  quite  different  from  the 
rather  broad  and  flattened  larva  of  Andrena.  The  body  is 
rather  thick  behind,  but  in  front  tapers  slowly  towards  the 
head,  which  is  of  moderate  size.  Its  body  is  somewhat  tuber- 
culated,  the  tubercle  aiding  the  grub  in  moving  about  its  cell. 
Its  length  is  nearly  one-half  (.40)  of  an  inch.  On  the  pupa  are 
four  quite  distinct  conical  tubercles  forming  a  transverse  line 
just  in  front  of  the  ocelli ;  and  there  are  also  two  larger,  longer 
tubercles,  on  the  outer  side  of  each  of  which,  an  ocellus  is 
situated.  Figure  30  represents  the  pupa  seen  from  beneath. 

Search  was  made  on  July  16th,  where  the  ground  was  hard  as 
stone  for  six  inches  in  depth,  below  which  the  soil  was  soft  and 
fine,  and  over  twenty  cells  were  dug  out.  "The  upper  cells 
contained  nearly  mature  pupa3,  and  the  lower  ones,  Iarva3  of 
various  sizes,  the  smallest  being  hardly  distinguishable  by  the 
naked  eye.  Each  of  these  small  Iarva3  was  in  a  cell  by  itself, 
and  situated  upon  a  lump  of  pollen,  which  was  the  size  and 
shape  of  a  pea,  and  was  found  to  lessen  in  size  as  the  larva 
grew  larger.  These  young  were  probably  the  offspring  of 
several  females,  as  four  mature  bees  were  found  in  the  hole." 
The  larva  of  an  English  species  hatches  in  ten  days  after  the 
eggs  are  laid. 

Another  brood  of  bees  appeared  the  middle  of  September,  as 
on  the  ninth  of  that  month  (18G4)  Mr.  Emerton  found  several 
holes  of  the  same  species  of  bee,  made  in  a  hard  gravel  road 
near  the  turnpike.  When  opened,  they  were  found  to  contain 
several  bees  with  their  young.  September  2d,  of  this  year, 
the  same  kind  of  bee  was  found  in  holes,  and  just  ready  to  leave 
the  cell.  It  is  probable  that  these  bees  winter  over. 

"We  have  incidentally  noticed  the  presence  in  the  nests  of 
Andrena  and  Halictus  of  a  stranger  bee,  clad  in  gay,  fantastic 


THE   CUCKOO   BEE:  37 

hues,  which  lives  a  parasitic  life  on  its  hosts.  This  parasitism 
does  not  go  far  enough  to  cause  the  death  of  the  host,  since  we 
find  the  young  of  the  parasitic  Cuckoo  bee,  in  cells  containing 
the  young  of  the  former. 

Mr.  F.  Smith,  in  his  "Catalogue  of  British  Bees,"  says  of  this 
genus :  "No  one  appears  to  know  anything  beyond  the  mere 
fact  of  their  entering  the  burrows  of  Andrenidse  and  Apida3, 
except  that  they  are  found  in  the  cells  of  the  working  bees  in 
their  perfect  condition:  it  is  most  probable  that  they  deposit 
their  eggs  on  the  provision  laid  up  by  the  working  bee,  that 
they  close  up  the  cell,  and  that  the  working  bee,  finding  an  egg 
deposited,  commences  a  fresh  cell  for  her  own  progeny." 

He  has,  however,  found  two  specimens  of  Nomada  sexfasciata 
in  the  cells  of  the  long-horned  bee,  Eucera  longicornis.  He 
also  states,  that  while  some  species  are  constant  in  their  attacks 
on  certain  Halicti  and  Andrenre,  others  attack  different  species 
of  these  genera  indiscriminately.  In  like  manner  another 
Cuckoo  bee  (Ccelioxys)  is  parasitic  on  Megachile  and  Saropoda ; 
Stelis  is  a  parasite  on  Osmia,  the  Mason  bee :  and  Melecta 
infests  the  cells  of  Anthophora.  ' 

The  observations  of  Mr.  Emerton  enable  us  still  further  to 
clear  up  the  history  of  this  obscure  visitor.  He  found  both  the 
larva  and  pupa,  as  well  as  the  perfect  bee,  in  the  cells  of  both 
genera;  so  that  either  both  kinds  of  bee,  when  hatched  from 
eggs  laid  in  the  same  cell,  feed  on  the  same  pollen  mass,  which 
therefore  barely  suffices  for  the  nourishment  of  both;  or  the 
hostess,  discovering  the  strange  egg  laid,  cuckoo-like,  in  her 
own  nest,  has  the  forethought  to  deposit  another  ball  of  pollen 
to  secure  the  safety  of  her  young. 

Is  such  an  act  the  operation  of  a  blind  instinct?  Does  it  not 
rather  ally  our  little  bee  with  those  higher  animals  which 
undoubtedly  possess  a  reasoning  power?  Its  instinct  teaches  it 
to  build  cells,  and  prepare  its  pollen  mass,  and  lay  an  egg 
thereon.  Its  reason  enables  it,  in  such  an  instance  as  this, 
when  the  life  of  the  brood  is  threatened,  to  guard  against  any 
such  danger  by  means  to  which  it  does  not  habitually  resort. 
This  instance  is  paralleled  by  the  case  of  our  common  summer 
Yellow  bird,  which,  on  finding  an  egg  of  the  Cow  bunting  in  its 
nest,  often  builds  a  new  nest  above  it,  to  the  certain  destruc- 
tion of  the  unwelcome  egg  in  the  nest  beneath. 

In  the  structure  of  the  bee,  and  in  all  its  stages  of  growth, 
4 


38  THE' HOME  OF  THE  BEES. 

our  parasite  seems  lower  in  the  zoological-scale  than  its  host. 
It  is  structurally  a  degraded  form  of  Working-bee,  and  its  posi- 
tion socially  is  unenviable.  It  is  lazy,  not  having  the  provi- 
dent habits  of  the  Working-bees ;  it  aids  not  in  the  least,  so  far 
as  we  know,  the  cross-fertilization  of  plants,— one  great  office 
in  the  economy  of  nature  which  most  bees  perform,— since  it  is 
not  a  pollen-gatherer,  but  on  the  contrary  is  seemingly  a  drag 
and  hinderance  to  the  course  of  nature.  But  yet  nature  kindly, 
and  as  if  by  a  special  interposition,  provides  for  its  main- 
tenance, and  the  humble  naturalist  can  only  exclaim,  "  God  is 
great,  and  his  ways  mysterious,"  and  go  on  studying  and  col- 
lecting facts,  leaving  to  his  successors  the  more  difficult  task, 
but  greater  joy  of  discovering  the  cause  and  reason  of  things 
that  are  but  a  puzzle  to  the  philosophers  of  this  day. 

The  larva  of  Nomada  may  be  known  from  those  of  its  host,  by 
its  slenderer  body  and  smaller  head,  while  the  body  is  smoother 
and  more  cylindrical.  Both  sexes  of  Nomada  imbricata  and 
N.  pulchella  were  found  by  Mr.  Emerton,  the  former  in  both  the 
Audreua  and  Halictus  nests,  and  both  were  found  in  a  single 
Audrena  nest. 


Wood  Wasp. 


CHAPTER  III. 

0          THE    PARASITES    OF    THE    HONEY    BEE. 

VERY  few  bee-keepers  are  probably  aware  how  many  insect 
parasites  infest  the  Honey  bee.  In  our  own  literature  we  hear 
almost  nothing  of  this  subject,  but  ill  Europe  much  has  been 
written  on  bee  parasites.  From  Dr.  Edward  Assmuss'  little 
work  on  the  "Parasites  of  the  Honey  Bee,"  we  glean  some  of 
the  facts  now  presented,  and  which  cannot  fail  to  interest  the 
general  reader  as  well  as  the  owner  of  bees. 

The  study  of  the  habits  of  animal  parasites  has  of  late  gained 
much  attention  among  naturalists,  and  both  the  honey  and  wild 
bees  afford  good  examples  of  the  singular  relation  between  the 
host  and  the  parasites  which  live  upon  it.  Among  insects  gen- 
erally, there  are  certain  species  which  devour  the  contents  of 
the  egg  of  the  victim.  Others,  and  this  is  the  most  common 
mode  of  parasitism,  attack  the  insect  in  its  larva  state  ;  others, 
in  the  pupa  state,  and  still  others  in  the  perfect,  or  imago  state. 
Dr.  Leidy  has  shown  that  the  wood-devouring  species  of  beetle, 
Passalus  cornutus,  and  some  Myriopods,  or  "thousand  legs," 
are,  in  some  cases,  tenanted  by  myriads  of  microscopic  plants 
and  worms  which  luxuriate  in  the  alimentary  canal,  while  the 
"caterpillar-fungus"  attacks  sickly  caterpillars,  filling  out  their 
bodies,  and  sending  out  shoots  into  the  air,  so  that  the  insect 
looks  as  if  transformed  into  a  vegetable. 

The  Ichneumon  flies,  of  which  there  are  undoubtedly  several 
thousand  species  in  this  country,  are  the  most  common  insect 
parasites.  Next  to  these  are  the  different  species  of  Tachina 
and  its  allied  genera.  These,  like  Ichneumons,  live  in  the  bodies 
of  their  hosts,  consuming  the  fatty  parts,  and  finishing  their 

(39) 


40  THE    PARASITES   OF   THE  HONEY   BEE. 

transformations  just  as  the  exhausted  host  is  ready  to  die,  issue 
from  their  bodies  as  flies,  closely  resembling  the  common  house- 

fly. 

A  small  fly  has  been  found  in  Europe  to  be  the  most  formid- 
able foe  of  the  hive  bee,  sometimes  producing  the  well-known 
disease  called  "foul-brood,"  which  is  analogous  to  the  typhus 
fever  of  man. 

This  fly,  belonging  to  the  genus  Phora  (Fig.  32,  Phora  incras- 
sata;  a,  larva;  5,  puparium;  c,  another  species  from  Mammoth 


32.  Phora  and  its  Young. 

Cave),  is  a  small  insect  about  a  line  and  a  half  long,  and  found 
in  Europe  during  the  summer  and  autumn  flying  slowly  about 
flowers  and  windows,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  beehives.  Its  white, 
transparent  larva  is  cylindrical,  a  little  pointed  before,  but 
broader  behind.  The  head  is  small  and  rounded,  with  short, 
three-jointed  antenna?,  and  at  the  posterior  end  of  the  body  are 
several  slender  spines.  The  puparium,  or  pupa  case,  inclosing 
the  delicate  chrysalis,  is  oval,  consisting  of  eight  segments, 
flattened  above,  with  two  large  spines  near  the  head,  and  four 
on  the  extremity  of  the  body. 

When  impelled  by  instinct  to  provide  for  the  continuance  of 
its  species,  the  Phora  enters  the  beehive  and  gains  admission 
to  a  cell,  when  it  bores  with  its  ovipositor  through  the  skin  of 
the  bee  larva,  laying  its  long  oval  egg  in  a  horizontal  position 
just  under  the  skin.  The  embryo  of  the  Phora  is  already  well 
developed,  S*o  that  in  three  hours  after  the  egg  is  inserted  in  the 
body  of  its  unsuspecting  and  helpless  host,  the  embryo  is  nearly 
ready  to  hatch.  In  about  two  hours  more  it  actually  breaks  off 
the  larger  end  of  the  egg-shell  and  at  once  begins  to  eat  the 
fatty  tissues  of  its  victim,  its  posterior  half  still  remaining  in 
the  shell.  In  an  hour  more,  it  leaves  the  egg  entirely  and  buries 
itself  completely  in  the  fatty  portion  of  the  young  bee. 


THE  PHORA   PARASITE. 


41 


The  maggot  moults  three  times.  In  twelve  hours  after  the 
last  moult  it  turns  around  with  its  head  towards  the  posterior 
end  of  the  body  of  its  host,  and  in  another  twelve  hours,  having 
become  full-fed,  it  bores  through  the  skin  of  the  young,  eats  its 
way  through  the  brood-covering  of  the  cell  and  falls  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  hive,  where  it  changes  to  a  pupa  in  the  dust  and  dirt, 
or  else  creeps  out  of  the  door  and  transforms  in  the  earth. 
Twelve  days  after,  the  fly  appears. 

The  young  bee,  emaciated  and  enfeebled  by  the  attacks  of  its 
ravenons  parasite,  dies,  and  its  decaying  body  fills  the  bottom 
of  the  cell  with  a  slimy,  foul-smelling  mass,  called  "foul-brood." 
This  gives  rise  to  a  miasma  which  poisons  the  neighboring 
brood,  until  the  contagion  (for  the  disease  is  analogous  to 
typhus,  jail  or  ship-fever)  spreads  through  the  whole  hive,  unless 
promptly  checked  by  removing  the  cause  and  thoroughly  cleans- 
ing the  hive. 

'Foul-brood  sometimes  attacks  our  American  hives,  and,  though 
the  cause  may  not  be  known,  yet  from  the  hints  given  above  we 
hope  to  have  the  history  of  our  species  of  Phora  cleared  up, 
should  our  disease  be  found  to  be  sometimes  due  to  the  attacks 
of  such  a  parasitic  fly. 

•  We  figure  the  Bee  louse  of  Europe  (Fig.  33  5,  Braula  caeca), 
which  is  a  singular  wingless  spider-like  fly,  allied  to  the  wing- 
less Sheep  tick  (Melophagus),  the  wingless  Bat  tick  (Nycteribia) 


33.  Bee  Louse  and  Larva. 

and  the  winged  Horse  fly  (Hippobosca).  The  head  is  very  large, 
without  eyes  or  ocelli  (simple  eyes),  while  the  ovate  hind-body 
consists  of  five  segments,  and  is  covered  with  stiff  hairs.  It  is 
one-half  to  two- thirds  of  a  line  long.  This  spider  fly  is  "pupi- 
parous,"  that  is,  the  young,  of  which  only  a  very  few  are  pro- 


42 


THE  PARASITES   OF   THE  HONEY  BEE. 


34.  Hive  Tricliodes. 


duced,  is  not  born  until  it  has  assumed  the  pupa  state  or  is  just 
about  to  do  so.  The  larva  (Fig.  33  a)  is  oval,  eleven-jointed, 
and  white  in  color.  The  very  day  it  is  hatched,  it  sheds  its  skin 
and  changes  to  an  oval  puparium  of  &  dark  brown  color. 

Its  habits  resemble  those  of  the  flea.  Indeed,  should  we  com- 
press its  body  strongly,  it  would  bear  a  striking  resemblance  to 
that  insect.  It  is  evidently  a  connecting  link  between  the  flea, 

and  the  two  winged  flies. 
Like  the  former  it  lives  on 
the  body  of  its  host,  and  ob- 
tains its  food  by  plunging  its 
stout  beak  into  the  bee  and 
sucking  its  blood. 

It  has  not  been  noticed  in 
this  country,  but  is  liable  to 
be  imported  on  the  bodies  of 
Italian  bees.  Generally,  one 
or  two  of  the  Braulas  may,  on 
close  examination,  be  detected 
on  the  body  of  the  bee ;  sometimes  the  poor  bees  are  loaded 
down  by  as  many  as  a  hundred  of  these  hungry  blood-suckers. 
Assmuss  recommends  rubbing  them  off  with  a  feather,  as  the 
bee  goes  in  and  out  of  the  door  of  its  hive. 

Among  the  beetles  are  a  few  forms  occasionally  found  in  bees' 
nests  and  also  parasitic  on  the  body  of  the  bee.  Trichodes 
apiarius  (Fig.  34,  a,  larva;  &,  pupa, 
front  view)  has  long  been  known  in 
Europe  to  attack  the  young  bees.  In  • 
its  perfect,  or  beetle  state  it  is  found 
on  flowers,  like  our  Trichodes  Nuttallii, 
which  is  commonly  found  on  the  Spiraea 
in  August,  and  which  npy  yet  prove 
to  enter  our  beehives.  The  larva  de- 
vours the  brood,  but  with  the  modern 
hive  its  ravages  maybe  readily  detected. 

The  Oil  beetle,  Meloe  angusticollis  35.  Meloe. 

(Fig.  35,  male,  differing  from  the  female  by  having  the  anten- 
nae as  if  twisted  into  a  knot ;  Fig.  36,  the  active  larva  found  on 
.the  body  of  the  bee),  is  a  large  dark  blue  insect  found  crawling 
in  the  grass  in  the  vicinity  of  the  nests  of  Andrena,  Halictus, 
and  other  wild  bees  in  May,  and  again  in  August  and  September. 


THE  MKLOB   PARASITE. 


43 


The  eggs  are  laid  in  a  mass  covered  with  earth  at  the  root  of 
some  plant.  During  April  and  early  in  May,  when  the  willows 
are  in  blossom,  we  have  found  the  young  recently  hatched  larvae 
in  considerable  abundance  creeping  briskly  over  the  bees,  or  with 
their  heads  plunged  between  the  segments  of  the  body,  greedily 
sucking  in  the  juices  of  their  host.  Those  that  we  saw  occurred 
on  the  Humble  and  other  wild  bees,  and  on  various  flies  (Syr- 
phus  and  Muscidae),  and  there  is  no  reason  why  they  should  not 
infest  the  Honey  bee,  which  frequents  similar  flowers,  as  they  are 
actually  known  to  do  in  Europe.  These  larvae  are  probably 
hatched  out  near  where  the  bees  hibernate,  so  as  to  creep  into 
their  bodies  before  they  fly  in  the  spring,  as  it  would  be  impos- 


Early  Stages  of  Meloe. 

sible  for  them  to  crawl  up  a  willow  tree  ten  feet  high  or  more, 
their  feet  being  solely  adapted  for  climbing  over  the  hairy  body 
of  the  bee,  which  they  do  not  leave  until  about  to  undergo  their 
strange  and  unusual  transformations. 

In  Europe,  Assmuss  states  that  on  being  brought  into  the  nest 
by  the  bee,  they  leave  the  bee  and  devour  the  eggs  in  the  bee 
cells,  and  then  attack  the  bee  bread.  When  full-fed  and  ready 
to  pass  through  their  transformations  to  attain  the  beetle  state, 
instead  of  at  once  assuming  the  pupa  and  imago  forms,  as  in  the 
Trichodes  represented  in  fig.  34,  they  pass  through  a  hyper-meta- 
morphosis, as  Fabre,  a  French  naturalist,  calls  it.  In  other  words, 
the  changes  in  form  which  are  preparatory  to  assuming  the  pupa 
and  imago  states  are  more  marked  and  almost  coequal  with 


44  THE  PARASITES  OF  THE  HONEY  BEE. 

the  larva  and  pupa  states,  so  that  the  Meloe,  instead  of  passing 
through  three  states  (the  egg,  larva  and  pupa),  in  reality  passes 
through  these  and  two  others  in  addition,  which  are  interme- 
diate. The  whole  subject  of  the  metamorphosis  of  this  beetle 
needs  revision,  but  Fabre  states  that  the  larva,  soon  after  enter- 
ing the  nest  of  its  host,  changes  its  skin  and  assumes  a  second 
larva  form.  Newport,  who  with  Siebold  has  carefully  described 
the  metamorphoses  of  Meloe,  does  not  mention  this  stage  in 
its  development,  which  Fabre  calls  "pseudo-chrysalis."  It 
is  motionless,  the  head  is  mask-like,  without  movable  appen- 
dages, and  the  feet  are  represented  by  six  tubercles.  This  is 
more  properly  speaking  the  semi-pupa,  and  the  mature  pupa 
grows  beneath  its  mask-like  form,  which  is  finally  moulted.  This 
form,  however,  according  to  Fabre,  changes  its  skin  and  turns 
into  a  third  larva  form  (Fig.  37).  After  some  time  it  assumes 
its  true  pupa  form  (Fig.  38),  and  finally  moults  this  skin  to 
appear  as  a  beetle. 

Fabre  has  also,  in  a  lively  and  well- written  account,  given  a 
history  of  Sitaris,  a  European  beetle,  somewhat  resembling 
Meloe.  He  states  that  Sitaris  lays  its  eggs  near  the  entrance 
of  bees'  nests,  and  at  the  very  moment  that  the  bee  lays  her  egg 
in  the  honey  cell,  the  flattened,  ovate  Sitaris  larva  drops  from  the 
body  of  the  bee  upon  which  it  has  been  living,  and  feasts  upt>n 
the  contents  of  the  freshly  laid  egg.  After  eating  this  delicate 
morsel  it  devours  the  honey  in  the  cells  of  the  bee  and  changes 
into  a  white,  cylindrical,  nearly  footless  grub,  and  after  it  is 
full-fed,  and  has  assumed  a  supposed  "pupa"  state,  the  skin, 
without  bursting,  incloses  a  kind  of  hard  "  pupa"  skin,  which  is 
very  similar  in  outline  to  the  former  larva,  within  whose  skin 
is  found  a  whitish  larva  which  directly  changes  into  the  true 
pupa.  In  a  succeeding  state  this  pupa  in  the  ordinary  way 
changes  to  a  beetle  which  belongs  to  the  same  group  of  Coleop- 
tera  as  Meloe.  We  cannot  but  think,  from  observations  made 
on  the  humble  bee,  the  wasp,  two  species  of  moths  and  several 
other  insects,  that  this  "hyper-metamorphosis  "  is  not  so  abnor- 
mal a  mode  of  insect  metamorphosis  as  has  been  supposed,  and 
that  the  changes  of  these  insects,  made  beneath  the  skin  of  the 
mature  larva  before  assuming  the  pupa  state,  are  almost  as 
remarkable  as  those  of  Meloe  and  Sitafis,  though  less  easily 
observed  than  they.  Several  other  beetles  allied  to  Meloe  are 
known  to  be  parasitic  on  wild  bees,  though  the  accounts  of 
them  are  fragmentary. 


THE    STYLOPS  PARASITE. 


45 


The  history  of  Stylops,  a  beetle  allied  to  Meloe,  is  no  less 
strange  than  that  of  Meloe,  and  is  in  some  respects  still  more 
interesting.  On  June  18th  I  captured  an  Andrena  vicina  which 
had  been  "  stylopized."  On  looking  at  my  capture  I  saw  a  pale 
reddish-brown  triangular  mark  on  the  bee's  abdomen ;  this  was 
the  flattened  head  and  thorax  of  a  female  Stylops  (Fig.  39a,  posi- 
tion of  the  female  of  Stylops,  seen  in  profile  in  the  abdomen  of 
the  bee ;  Fig.  39&,  the  female  seen  from  above.  The  head  and 
thorax  are  soldered  into  a  single  flattened  mass,  the  baggy  hind- 
body  being  greatly  enlarged  like  that  of  the  gravid  female  of  the 
white  ant,  and  consisting  of  nine  segments). 

On  carefully  drawing  out  the  whole  body  (PL  1,  Fig.  6,  as  seen 
from  above,  and  showing  the  alimentary  canal  ending  in  a  blind 
sac;  Fig.  Ga,  side  view),  which 
is  very  extensible,  soft  and  baggy, 
and  examining  it  under  a  high 
power  of  the  microscope,  we  saw 
multitudes,  at  least  several  hun- 
dred, of  very  minute  larvae,  like 
particles  of  dust  to  the  naked 
eye,  issuing  in  every  direction 
from  the  body  of  the  parent  now 
torn  open  in  places,  though  most 
of  them  made  their  exit  through 
an  opening  on  the  under  side  of 
the  head-thorax.  The  Stylops, 
being  hatched  while  still  in  the 
body  of  the  parent,  is  therefore 
viviparous.  She  probably  never 
lays  eg^s.  39-  Female  Stylops. 

On  the  last  of  April,  when  the  Mezereon  was  in  blossom,  I 
caught  the  singular  looking  male  (Stylops  Children!,  Fig.  40 ;  a, 
side  view;  it  is  about  one-fourth  of  an  inch  long),  which  was 
as  unlike  its  partner  as  possible.  I  laid  it  under  a  tumbler, 
when  the  delicate  insect  flew  and  tumbled  about  till  it  died  of 
exhaustion  in  a  few  hours. 

It  appears,  then,  that  the  larvae  are  hatched  during  the  middle 
or  last  of  June  from  eggs  fertilized  in  April.  The  larvae  then 
crawl  out  upon  the  body  of  the  bee,  on  which  they  a^e  trans- 
ported to  the  nest,  where  they  enter,  according  to  Peck's  obser- 
vations, the  body  of  the  larva,  on  whose  fatty  parts  they  feed. 


•46 


THE  PARASITES  OF  THE  HONEY  BEE. 


Previous  to  changing  to  a  pupa  the  larva  lives  with  its  head 
turned  towards  that  of  its  host,  but  before  assuming  the  perfect 
state  (which  they  do  in  the  late  summer  or  autumn)  it  must 
reverse  its  position.  The  female  protrudes  the  front  part  of 
her  body  between  the  segments  of  the  abdomen  of  her  host,  as 
represented  in  our  figure.  This  change,  Newport  thinks,  takes 
place  after  the  bee-host  ^ias  undergone  its  metamorphoses, 
though  the  bee  does  not  leave  her  earthen  cells  until  the  fol- 
lowing spring.  Though  the  male  Stylops  deserts  his  host,  his 
wingless  partner  is  imprisoned  during  her  whole  life  within  her 
host,  and  dies  immediately  after  giving  birth  to  her  myriad  (for 
Newport  thinks  she  produces  over  two  thousand)  offspring. 


40.  Male  Stylops. 

Xenos  Peckii,  an  allied  insect,  was  discovered  by  Dr.  Peck  to 
be  parasitic  in  the  body  of  wasps,  and  there  are  now  known 
to  be  several  species  of  this  small  but  curious  family,  Stylopidse, 
which  are  known  to  Ifve  parasitically  on  the  bodies  of  our  wild 
bees  and  wasps.  The  presence  of  these  parasites  finally  exhausts 
the  host,  so  that  the  sterile  female  bee  dies  prematurely. 

As  in  the  higher  animals,  bees  are  afflicted  with  parasitic 
worms  which  induce  disease  and  sometimes  death.  The  well- 
known  hair  worm,  Gordius,  is  an  insect  parasite.  The  adult 
form  is  s^out  the  size  of  a  slender  knitting  needle,  and  is  seen 
ia  moist  soil  and  in  pools.  It  lays,  according  to  Dr.  Leidy, 
"millions  of'eggs  connected  together  in  long  cords."  The  mi- 


THE  HAIR  WORM  PARASITE.  47 

croscopical,  tadpole- shaped  young  penetrate  into  the  bodies  of 
insects  frequenting  damp  localities.  Fairly  ensconced  within  the 
body  of  their  unsuspecting  host,  they  luxuriate  on  its  fatty  tis- 
sues, and  pass  through  their  metamorphoses  into  the  adult  form, 
when  they  desert  their  living  house  and  take  to  the  water  to  lay 
their  eggs.  In  Europe,  Siebold  has  described  Gordius  subbifur- 
cus,  which  infests  the  drones  of  the  Honey  bee,  and  also  other 
insects.  Professor  Siebold  has  also  described  Mermis  albicans, 
which  is  a  similar  kind  of  hair  worm,  from  two  to  five  inches 
long,  and  whitish  in  color.  This  worm  is  also  found,  strangely 
enough,  only  in  the  drones,  though  it  is  the  workers  which  fre- 
quent watery  places  to  appease  their  thirst. 

Thousands  of  insects  are  carried  off  yearly  by  parasitic  fungi. 
The  ravages  of  the  Muscardine,  caused  by  a  minute  fungus 
(BotrytrisBassiana),  have  threat- 
ened the  extinction  of  silk  cul- 
ture in  Europe,  and  the  still 
more  formidable  disease  called 
•  pebrine  is  thought  to  be  of  veg- 
etable origin.  Dr.  Leidy  men- 
tions a  fungus  which  must  annu- 
ally carry  off  myriads  of  the 
Seventeen  Year  Locust.  A  some- 
what similar  fungus,  Mucor  mel- 
litophorus  (Fig.  41),  infests 
bees,  filling  the  stomach  with 
microscopical  colorless  spores, 
so  as  greatly  to  weaken  the  in- 
sect. 

As  there  is  a  probability  that 
many  insects,  parasites  on  the  41-  Bee 

wild  bees,  may  sooner  or  later  afflict  the  Honey  bee,  and  also  to 
illustrate  farther  the  complex  nature  of  insect  parasitism,  we 
will  for  a  moment  look  at  some  other  bee  parasites. 

Among  the  numerous  insects  preying  in  some  way  upon  the 
Humble  bee  are  to  be  found  other  species  of  bees  and  moths, 
flies  and  beetles.  Insect  parasites  often  imitate  their  host: 
Apathus  (Plate  1,  Fig.  1,  A.  Ashtoni)  can  scarcely  be  distin- 
guished from  its  host,  and  yet  it  lives  cuckoo-like  in  the  cells 
of  the  Humble  bee,  though  we  know  not  yet  how  injurious  it 
really  is.  Then  there  are  Conops  and  Volucella,  the  former 


PI.  1. 


(48)  PARASITES  OF 


PARASITES   OF  WILD  BEES. 


49 


of  which  lives  like  Tachina  and  Phora  within  the  bee's  body, 
while  the  latter  devours  the  brood.  *The  young  (Plate  1,  Tigs. 
5,  5  a)  of  another  fly  allied  to  Anthomyia,  of  which  the  Onion 
fly  (Fig.  42)  is  an  example,  is  also  not  unfrequently  met  with. 
A  small  beetle  (Plate  1,  Fig.  4,  Antherophagus  ochraceus)  is  a 
common  inmate  of  Humble  bees'  nests,  and  probably  feeds  upon 
the  wax  and  pollen.  We  have  also  found  several  larvae  (Fig. 
43)  of*a  beetle  of  which  we  do  not  know  the  adult  form.  Of 
similar  habits  is  probably  a  small  moth  (Nephopteryx  Edmandsii, 
Plate  1,  Figs.  2;  2  a,  larva;  Fig.  2  &,  chrysalis,  or  pupa)  which 
undoubtedly  feeds  upon  the  waxen  walls  of  the  bee  cells,  and 
thus,  like  the  attacks  of  the  common  bee  moth  (Galleria  cere- 
ana),  whose  habits  are  so  well  known  as  not  to  detain  us,  must 
prove  very  prejudicial  to  the  well  being  of  the  colony.  This  moth 
is  in  turn  infested  by  an  Ichneumon  fly  (Microgaster  nephopter- 
icis,  Plate  1,  Figs.  3,  3  a)  which  must  prove  quite  destructive. 


42.  Onion  Fly  and  Maggot.  43.  Larva  of  Beetle. 

The  figures  of  the  early  stages  of  a  minute  ichneumon  repre- 
sented on  the  same  plate  (Fig.  7,  larva,  and  7  a,  pupa,  of  An- 
thophorabia  megachilis)  which  is  parasitic  on  Megachile,  the 
Leaf-cutter  bee,  illustrates  the  transformations  of  the  Ichneumon 
flies,  the  smallest  species  of  which  yet  known  (and  we  believe 
the  smallest  insect  known  at  all)  is  the  Pteratomus  Putnami 
(PI.  1,  Fig.  8,  wanting  the  hind  leg),  or  "winged  atom,"  which 
is  only  one-ninetieth  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  is  parasitic  on 
Anthophorabia,  itself  a  parasite.  A  species  of  mite  (Plate  1, 
Figs.  9 ;  9  a,  the  same  seen  from  beneath)  is  always  to  be  found 
in  humble  bees'  nests,  but  it  is  not  thought  to  be  specially  ob- 
noxious to  the  bees  themselves,  though  several  species  of  mites 
(Gamasus,  etc.)  are  known  to  be  parasitic  on  insects. 
5 


CHAPTER   IV. 

A   FEW   WORDS   ABOUT   MOTHS. 

THE  butterflies  and  moths  from  their  beauty  and  grace,  have 
always  been  the  favorites  among  amateur  entomologists,  and 
rare  and  costly  works  have  been  published  in  which  their  forms 
and  gorgeous  colors  are  represented  in  the  best  style  of  natural 
history  art.  We  need  only  mention  the  folio  volume  of  Madam 
Merian  of  the  last  century,  Harris's  Aurelian,  the  works  of 
Cramer,  Stoll ,  Dr«ry,  Hiibner,  Horsfield,  Doubleday  and  West- 
wood,  and  Hewitson,  as  comprising  the  most  luxurious  and 
costly  entomological  works. 

Near  the  close  of  the  last  century,  John  Abbot  went  from 
London  and  spent  several  years  in  Georgia,  rearing  the  larger 
and  more  showy  butterflies  and  moths,  and  painting  them  in  the 
larva,  chrysalis  and  adult,  or  imago  stage.  These  drawings  he 
sent  to  London  to  be  sold.  Many  of  them  were  collected  by 
Sir  James  Edward  Smith,  and  published  under  the  title  of  "  The 
Natural  Histoiy  of  the  Rarer  Lepidopterous  Insects  of  Georgia, 
collected  from  the  Observations  of  John  Abbot,  with  the  Plants 
on  which  they  Feed."  (London,  1797.  2  vols.,  fol.)  Besides 
these  two  rare  volumes  there  are  sixteen  folio  volumes  of  draw- 
Ings  by  Abbot  in  the  Library  of  the  British  Museum.  This 
work  is  of  especial  interest  to  the  American  student  as  it  illus- 
trates the  early  stages  of  many  of  our  butterflies  and  moths. 

Indeed  the  study  of  insects  possesses  most  of  its  interest 
when  we  observe  their  habits  and  transformations.  Caterpil- 
lars are  always  to  be  found,  and  with  a  little  practice  are  easy 
to  raise ;  we  would  therefore  advise  any  one  desirous  of  begin- 
ning the  study  of  insects  to  take  up  the  butterflies  and  moths. 
They  are  perhaps  easier  to  study  than  any  other  group  of 
insects,  and  are  more  ornamental  in  the  cabinet.  As  a  scientific 
(50) 


TRANSFORMATIONS  OF  MOTHS.  51 

study  we  would  recommend  it  to  ladies  as  next  to  botany  in 
interest  and  in  the  ease  in  which  specimens  may  be  collected  and 
examined.  The  example  of  Madam  Merian,  and  several  ladies 
in  this  country  who  have  greatly  aided  science  by  their  well 
filled  cabinets,  and  critical  knowledge  of  the  various  species 
and  their  transformations,  is  an  earnest  of  what  may  be 
expected  from  their  followers.  Though  the  moths  are  easy 
to  study  compared  with  the  bees,  flies,  beetles  and  bugs,  and 
dragon  flies,  yet  many  questions  of  great  interest  in  philosoph- 
ical entomology  have  been  answered  by  our  knowledge  of  their 
structure  and  mode  of  growth.  The  great  works  of  Herold  on 
the  evolution  of  a  caterpillar ;  of  Lyonet  on  the  anatomy  of  the 
Cossus;  of  Newport  on  that  of  the  Sphinx;  and  of  Siebold  on 
the  parthenogenesis  of  insects,  are  proofs  that  the  moths  have 
engaged  the  attention  of  some  of  the  master  minds  in  science. 

The  study  of  the  transformations  of  the  moths  is  also  of  great 
importance  to  one  who  would  acquaint  himself  with  the  ques- 
tions concerning  the  growth  and  metamorphoses  and  origin  of 
animals.  We  should  remember  that  the  very  words  "  metamor- 
phosis" and  "transformation,"  now  so  generally  applied  to 
other  groups  of  animals  and  used  in  philosophical  botany,  were 
first  suggested  by  those  who  observed  that  the  moth  and 
butterfly  attain  their  maturity  only  by  passing  through 
wonderful  changes  of  form  and  modes  of  life. 

The  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  all  animals  pass  through  some 
sort  of  a  metamorphosis  is  very  recent  in  physiology.  More- 
over the  fact  that  these  morphological  eras  in  the  life  of  an 
individual  animal  accord  most  unerringly  with  the  gradation  of 
forms  in  the  type  of  which  it  is  a  member,  was  the  discovery  of 
the  eminent  physiologist  Von  Baer.  Up  to  this  time  the  true 
significance  of  the  luxuriance  and  diversity  of  larval  forms  had 
never  seriously  engaged  the  attention  of  systematists  in  ento- 
mology. 

What  can  possibly  be  the  meaning  of  all  this  putting  on  and 
taking  off  of  caterpillar  habiliments,  or  in  other  words,  the 
process  of  moulting,  with  the  frequent  changes  in  ornamenta- 
tion, and  the  seeming  fastidiousness  and  queer  fancies  and 
strange  conceits  of  these  young  and  giddy  insects  seems  hidden 
and  mysterious  to  human  observation.  Indeed,  few  care  to 
spend  the  time  and  trouble  necessary  to  observe  the  insect 
through  its  transformations ;  and  that  done,  if  only  the  larva  of 


52  A  FEW  WORDS  ABOUT  MOTHS. 

the  perfect  insect  can  be  identified  and  its  form  sketched  how 
much  was  gained  I  A  truthful  and  circumstantial  biography,  in 
all  its  relations,  of  a  single  insect  has  yet  to  be  written ! 

We  should  also  apply  our  knowledge  of  the  larval  forms  of 
insects  to  the  details  of  their  classification  into  families  and  gen- 
era, constantly  collating  our  knowledge  of  the  early  stages  with 
the  structural  relations  that  accompany  them  in  the  perfect  state. 

The  simple  form  of  the  caterpillar  seems  to  be  a  concentra- 
tion of  the  characters  of  the  perfect  insect,  and  presents  easy 
characters  by  which  to  distinguish  the  minor  groups ;  and  the 
relative  rank  of  the  higher  divisions  will  only  be  definitely 
settled  when  their  forms  and  methods  of  transformation  are 
thoroughly  known.  Thus,  for  example,  in  two  groups  of  the 
large  Attacus-like  moths,  which  are  so  amply  illustrated  in  Dr. 
Harris's  "  Treatise  on  Insects  injurious  to  Vegetation ; "  if  we 
take  the  different  forms  of  the  caterpillars  of  the  Tau  moth  of 
Europe,  which  are  figured  by  Duponchel  and  Godard,  we  find 
that  the  very  young  larva  has  four  horn-like  processes  on  the 
front,  and  four  on  the  back  part  of  the  body.  The  full  grown  lar- 
va of  the  Regalis  moth,  of  the  Southern  and  Middle  states,  is 
yery  similarly  ornamented.  It  is  an  embryonic  form,  and  there- 
fore inferior  in  rank  to  the  Tau  moth.  Multiply  these  horns  over 
the  surface  of  the  body,  lessen  their  size,  and  crown  them  with 
hairs,  and  we  have  our  lo  moth,  so  destructive  to  corn.  Now 
take  off  the  hairs,  elongating  and  thinning  out  the  tubercles, 
and  make  up  the  loss  by  the  increased  size  of  the  worm,  and  we 
have  the  caterpillar  of  our  common  Cecropia  moth.  Again, 
remove  the  naked  tubercles  almost  wholly,  smooth  off  the 
surface  of  the  body,  and  contract  its  length,  thus  giving  a 
greater  convexity  and  angularity  to  the  rings,  and  we  have 
before  us  the  larva  of  the  stately  Luna  moth  that  tops  this  royal 
family.  Here  are  certain  criteria  for  placing  these  insects 
before  our  minds  in  the  order  that  nature  has  placed  them. 
"We  have  certain  facts  for  determining  which  of  these  three 
insects  is  highest  and  which  lowest  in  the  scale,  when  we  sec 
the  larva  of  the  Luna  moth  throwing  off  successively  the  lo  and 
Cfecropia  forms  to  take  on  its  own  higher  features.  So  that 
there  is  a  meaning  in  all  this  shifting  of  insect  toggery. 

This  is  but  an  example  of  the  many  ways  in  which  both 
pleasure  and  mental  profit  may  be  realized  from  the  thoughtful 
study  of  caterpillar  life. 


BENEFICIAL  INSECTS. 


53 


In  collecting  butterflies  and  moths  for  cabinet  specimens,  one 
needs  a  gauze  net  a  foot  and  a  half  deep,  with  the  wire  frame  a 
foot  in  diameter ;  a  wide-mouthed  bottle  containing  a  parcel  of 
cyanide  of  potassium  gummed  on  the  side,  in  which  to  kill  the 
moths,  which  should,  as  soon  as  life  is  extinct,  be  pinned  in  a 
cork-lined  collecting  box  carried  in  the  coat  pocket.  The 
captures  should  then  be  spread  and  dried  on  a  grooved  setting 
board,  and  a  cabinet  formed  of  cork-lined  boxes  or  drawers ;  as 
a  substitute  for  cork,  frames  with  paper  tightly  stretched  over 
them  may  be  used,  or  the  pith  of  corn-stalks  or  palm  wood. 
Caterpillars  should  be  preserved  in  spirits,  or  in  glycerine  with 
a  little  alcohol  a,dded. 
Some  persons  ingeniously 
empty  the  skins  and  inflate 
them  over  a  flame  so  that 
they  may  be  pinned  by  the 
side  of  the  adult. 

Some  of  the  most  troub- 
lesome and  noxious  in- 
sects are  found  among  the 
moths.  I  need  only  men- 
tion the  canker  worm  and 
American  teut  caterpillar, 
and  the  various  kinds  of 
cut  worms,  as  instances. 

We  must  not,  however, 
forget  the  good  done  by 
insects*  They  undoubt-  43.  Parasite  of  the  American  Silk  Worm, 
edly  tend  by  their  attacks  to  prevent  an  undue  growth  of  vege- 
tation. The  pruning  done  to  a  tre*  or  herb  by  certain  insects 
undoubtedly  causes  a  more  healthy  growth  of  the  branches  and 
leaves,  and  ultimately  a  greater  production  of  fruit.  Again,  as 
pollen-bearers,  insects  are  a  most  powerful  agency  in  nature.  It 
is  undoubtedly  the  fact  that  the  presence  of  bees  in  orchards 
increases  the  fruit  crop,  and  thus  the  thousands  of  moths 
(though  injurious  as  caterpillars),  wild  bees  and  other  insects, 
that  .seem  to  live  without  purpose,  are  really,  though  few  realize 
it,  among  the  best  friends  and  allies  o*f  man. 

Moreover,  insects  are  of  great  use  as  scavenger*;  such  are 
the  young  or  maggots  of  the  house  fly,  the  mosquitoes,  and 
numerous  other  forms,  that  seem  created  only  to  vex  us  when 


54 


A  FEW  WORDS  ABOUT  MOTHS. 


in  the  winged  state.     Still  a  larger  proportion  of  insects  are 
directly  beneficial  from  their  habit  of  attacking  injurious  spe- 
cies, such  as  the  ichneumons  (Fig.  43,  the  ichneumon  of  the 
American   silk  worm)   and 
certain  flies   (Fig.  44,   Ta- 
china) ;    also  many  carniv- 
orous species  of  wasps 
beetles  and  flies,   dragon 
flies  and  Aphis  lions  (Fig. 
45,  the  lace-winged  fly; 
adult,  larva  and  eggs). 

But  few,  however,  sus- 
pect how  enormous  are  the 
losses  to  crops  in  this  coun 
try  entailed  by  the  attack^ 

of  the  injurious  species.  44.  Tachina)  parasite  of  Colorado  Potato 
In  Europe,  the  subject  of  Beetle, 

applied  entomology  has  al- 
ways attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention.      Most  sumptuous 
works,  elegant  quartos  prepared  by  naturalists  known  the  world 
over,   and    published  at  government    expense,   together  with 
smaller  treatises,  have  frequently  appeared ;  w"hile  the  subject 

is  taught  in  the  nu- 
merous agricultural 
colleges  and  schools, 
especially  of  Germa- 
ny- 

In  the  density  pop- 
ulated countries  of 
Europe,  the  losses  oc- 
casioned by  injurious 
insects  are  most  se- 
verely felt,  though 
45.  The  Lace-winged  Fly,  its  Larva  and  Eggs.  from  .  m  a  n  y  causes, 

such  as  the  greater  abundance  of  their  insect  parasites,  and  the 
far  greater  care  taken  by  the  people  to  exterminate  their  insect 
enemies,  they  have  not  proved  so  destructive  as  in  our  own 
land. 

In  this  connection  I  may  quote  from  one  of  Dr.  Asa  Fitch's 
reports  on  the  noxious  insects  of  New  York,  where  he  says  :  "I 
find  that  in  our  wheat- fields  here,  the  midge  formed  59  per  cent. 


INJURIOUS  INSECTS.  55 

of  all  the  insects  on  this  grain  the  past  summer;  whilst  in 
France,  the  preceding  summer,  only  7  per  cent,  of  the  insects 
on  wheat  were  of  this  species.  In  France  the  parasitic  des- 
troyers amounted  to  85  per  cent. ;  while  in  this  country  our  par- 
asites form  only  10  per  cent." 

A  true  knowledge  of  practical  entomology  may  well  be  said  to 
be  in  its  infancy  in  our  own  country,  when,  as  is  well  known  to 
agriculturists,  the  cultivation  of  wheat  has  almost  been  given 
up  in  New  England,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio  and 
Virginia,  from  the  attacks  of  the  wheat  midge,  Hessian  fly, 
joint  worm,  and  chinch  bug.  According  to  Dr.  Shimer's 
estimate,  says  Mr.  Riley,  in  his  Second  Annual  Keport  on  the 
Injurious  Insects  of  Missouri,  which  may  be  considered  a  reason- 
able one,  "in  the  year  1864  three-fourths  of  the  wheat,  and 
one-half  of  the  corn  crop  were  destroyed  by  the  chinch  bug 
throughout  many  extensive  districts,  comprising  almost  the 
entire  North- West.  At  the  annual  rate  of  increase,  according 
to  the  United  States  Census,  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  the  wheat 
crop  ought  to  hare  been  about  thirty  millions  of  bushels,  and 
the  corn  crop  about  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  million 
bushels.  Putting  the  cash  value  of  wheat  at  $1.25,  and  that  of 
corn  at  50  cents,  the  cash  value  of  the  corn  and  wheat 
desl^yed  by  this  insignificant  little  bug,  no  bigger  than  a  grain 
of  rice,  in  one  single  State  and  one  single  year,  will  therefore, 
according  to  the  above  figures,  foot  up  to  the  astounding  total 
of  over  seventy-three  millions  of  dollars  /" 

The  imported  cabbage  butterfly  (Pieris  rapa3),  recently  intro- 
duced from  Europe,  is  estimated  by  the  Abbe  Provancher,  a 
Canadian  entomologist,  to  destroy  annually  two  hundred  and 
forty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  cabbages  around  Quebec.  The 
Hessian  fly,  according  to  Dr.  Fitch,  destroyed  fifteen  million 
dollars'  worth  of  wheat  in  New  York  State  in  one  year  (1854). 
The  army  worm  of  the  North  (Leucania  unipuncta),  which  was 
so  Abundant  in  1861,  from  New  England  to  Kansas,  was  re- 
ported to  have  done  damage  that  year  in  Eastern  Massachu- 
setts exceeding  half  a  million  of  dollars.  The  joint  worm 
(Isosoma  hordei)  alone  sometimes  cuts  off  whole  fields  of 
grain  in  Virginia  and  northward.  The  Colorado  potato  beetle 
is  steadily  moving  eastward,  now  ravaging  the  fields  in  Indiana 
and  Ohio,  and  only  the  forethought  and  ingenuity  in  devising 
means  of  checking  its  attacks,  resulting  from  a  thorough  study 


56  A  FEW  WORDS  ABOUT  MOTHS. 

of  its  habits,  will  deliver  our  wasted  fields  from  its  direful 
assaults. 

These  are  the  injuries  done  by  the  more  abundant  kinds  of 
insects  injurious  to  crops.  We  should  not  forget  that  each  fruit 
or  shade  tree,  garden  shrub  or  vegetable,  has  a  host  of  insects 
peculiar  to  it,  and  which,  year  after  year,  renew  their  attacks. 
I  could  enumerate  upwards  of  fifty  species  of  insects  which 
prey  upon  cereals  and  grass,  and  as  many  which  infest  our  field 
crops.  Some  thirty  well  known  species  ravage  our  garden 
vegetables.  There  are  nearly  fifty  species  which  attack  the 
grape  vine,  and  their  number  is  rapidly  increasing.  About 
seventy-five  species  make  their  annual  onset  upon  the  apple 
tree,  and  nearly  an  equal  number  may  be  found  upon  the  plum, 
pear,  peach  and  cherry.  Among  our  shade  trees,  over  fifty 
species  infest  the  oak;  twenty -five  the  elm;  seventy-five  the 
walnut,  and  over  one  hundred  species  of  insects  prey  upon  the 
pine. 

Indeed,  we  may  reasonably  calculate  the  annual  loss  in  our 
country  alone,  from  noxious  animals  and  the  lower  forms  of 
plants,  such  as  rust,  smut  and  mildew,  as  (at  a  low  estimate) 
not  far  from  five  hundred  million  dollars  annually.  Of  this 
amount,  at  least  one-tenth,  or  fifty  million  dollars,  could  prob- 
ably be  saved  by  human  exertions.  ^ 

To  save  a  portion  of  this  annual  loss  of  food  stuffs,  fruits  and 
lumber,  should  be  th«  first  object  of  farmers  and  gardeners. 
When  this  saving  is  made,  farming  will  become  a  profitable  and 
safe  profession.  But  while  a  few  are  well  informed  as  to  the 
losses  sustained  by  injurious  insects,  and  use  means  to  ward  off 
their  attacks,  their  efforts  are  constantly  foiled  by  the  negli- 
gence of  their  neighbors.  As  illustrated  so  well  by  the  history 
of  the  incursions  of  the  army  worm  and  canker  worm,  it  is  only 
by  a  combination  between  farmers  and  orchardists  that  these 
and  other  pests  can  be  kept  under.  The  matter  can  be  best 
reached  by  legislation.  We  have  fish  and  game  laws;* why 
should  we  not  have  an  insect  law?  Why  should  we  not  frame 
a  law  providing  that  farmers,  and  all  owning  a  garden  or 
orchard,  should  cooperate  in  taking  preventive  measures 
against  injurious  insects,  such  as  early  or  late  planting  of 
cereals,  to  avert  the  attacks  of  the  wheat  midge  and  Hessian 
fly ;  the  burning  of  stubble  in  the  autumn  and  spring  to  destroy 
the  joint  worm ;  the  combined  use  of  proper  remedies  against 


INJURIOUS  INSECTS. 


57 


the  canker  worm,  the  various  cut  worms,  and  other  noxious 
caterpillars?  A  law  carried  out  by  a  proper  State  entomolog- 
ical constabulary,  if  it  may  be  so  designated,  would  compel  the 
idle  and  shiftless  to  clear  their  farms  and  gardens  of  noxious 
animals. 

Among  some  of  the  injurious  insects  reported  on  by  Mr.  Riley, 
the  State  Entomologist  of  Missouri,  is  a  new  pest  to  the  cucum- 
ber in  the  West,  the  Pickle  worm  (Phacellura  nitidalis,  Fig.  46), 


46.  Pickle  Worm  and  Us  Moth. 

This  is  a  caterpillar  which  bores  into  the  cucumbers  when  large 
enough  to  pickle,  and  which  is  occasionally  found  in  pickles. 
Three  or  four  worms  sometimes  occur  in  a  cucumber,  and  in  the 
garden  a  single  one  will  cause  it  to  rot.  One  of  the  most  trouble- 
some intruders  in  our  graperies  is  the  Vine  dresser  (Chcero- 
campa  pampinatrix,  Fi§.  47,  larva  and  pupa;  Fig.  48,  adult),  a 
single  caterpillar  of  which  will  sometimes  "strip  a  small  vine 
of  its  leaves  in  a  few  nights,"  and  occasionally  nips  off  bunches 
of  half-grown  grapes. 

Another  caterpillar,  which  is  sometimes  so  abundant  as  nearly 
to  defoliate  the  grape  vine,  is  the  eight  spotted  Alypia  (Fig. 
49;  «,  larva;  &,  side  view  of  a  segment).  This  must  not  be 
confounded  with  the  bluish  larva  of  the  Wood  Nymph,  Eudryas 
grata  (Fig.  50),  which  differs  from  the  Alypia  caterpillar  in 
being  bluish,  and  in  wanting  the  white  patches  on  the  side  of 
the  body,  and  the  more  prominent  hump  on  the  end  of  the  body. 


58 


A  FEW  WORDS  ABOUT  MOTHS. 


48.  Vine  Dresser  Moth. 


47.  Vine  Dresser  and  Chrysalis. 


GRAPE  MOTHS. 


59 


Another  moth  (Psychomorpha  epimenis,  Fig.  51,  a,  larva;  &,  side 
view  of  a  segment;  c,  top  view  of  the  hump),  also  feeds  on  the 
grape,  eating  the  terminal 
buds.  It  is  also  bluish,  and 
•wants  the  orange  bands  on 
the  side  of  the  body.  An- 
other moth  of  this  family  is 
the  American  Procris  (Acolo- 
ithus  Americana,  Fig.  52a,  lar- 
va ;  6,  pupa ;  c,  cocoon ;  d,  e, 
imago) ;  a  dark  blue  moth, 
with  a  deep  orange  collar, 
whose  black  and  yellow  cat- 
erpillar is  gregarious  (Fig. 
53),  living  in  companies  of  a 
dozen  or  more  and  eating  the  49'  ®gM-spotted  Alypia  and  Larva. 

softer  parts  of  the  leaves.    It  is  quite  common  in  the  Western 
and    Southern    States.      The  figure    represents    two  separate 

broods  of  caterpillars  feed- 
ing on  either  side  of  the 
midrib  of  the  leaf. 

But  if  the  moths  are,  as 
a  rule,  the  enemies  of  our 
crops,  there  are  the  silk 
worms  of  the  East  and 
Southern  Europe  and  Cali- 
fornia, which  afford  the 
50.  Eudryas  grata.  mcans  of  supporfc  to  muiti. 

tudes  of  the  poorer  classes,  and  supply  one  of  the  most  valuable 
articles  of  closing.     Blot  out  the  silk  worm,  and  we  should 


51.  Larva  of  Psychomorpha. 

remove  one  of  the  most  important  sources  of  national  wealth, 
the  annual  revenue  from  the  silk  trade  of  the  world  amounting 
to  $254,500,000. 


A  FEW   WORDS  ABOUT  MOTHS. 


JO.  1>  C 

52.  American  Procris  and  Young. 


Silk  culture  is  rapidly  assuming  importance  in  California,  and 
though  the  Chinese  silk  worm  has  not  been  successfully  culti- 
vated in  the  Eastern  States,  yet  the  American  silk  worm,  Teleas 
Polyphemus  (see  frontispiece,  male;  Fig.  54,  larva;  55,  pupa; 

56,  cocoon),  can,  we  are 
assured  by  Mr.  Trouvelot, 
k°  made  a  source  of  profit. 

This  is  a  sPlendid  mem- 

ker  °f  ^ie  grouP  °f  which 
the  gigantic  A ttacus  Atlas 
of  China  is  a  type.  It  is 
a  large,  fawn  colored  moth 
with  a  tawny  tinge ;  the 
caterpillar  is  pale  green, 
and  is  of  the  size  indicated 
in  the  cut.  Mr.  Trouvelot  says  that  of  the  several  kinds  of  silk 
worms,  the  larva  of  the  present  species  alone  deserves  atten- 
tion. The  cocoons 
of  Platysamia  Ce- 
cropia  may  be  ren- 
dered of  some 
commercial  value, 
as  the  silk  can  be 
carded,  but  the 
chief  objection  is 
the  difficulty  of 
raising  the  larva. 
"The  Polyphe- 
mus worm  spins 
a  strong,  dense, 
oval  cocoon, 
which  is  closed  at 
each  end,  while 
the  silk  has  a  very 
strong  and  glossy 
fibre."  Mr.  Trou- 
velot, from  whose  53.  Larvae  of  American  Procris. 
interesting  account  in  the  first  volume  of  the  "American  Natu- 
ralist" we  quote,  says  that  in  1865  "  not  less  than  a  million  could 
be  seen  feeding  in  the  open  air  upon  bushes  covered  with  a  net ; 
five  acres  of  woodland  were  swarming  with  caterpillar  life." 


SILK  WORMS.  61 

* 

The  bushes  were  scrub  oaks,  the  worms  being  protected  by  a 
net.  After  meeting  with  such  great  success  Mr.  Trouvelot  lost 
all  his  worms  by  pebrine,  the  germs  being  imported  in  eggs 
received  from  Japan  through  M.  Guerin-M6neville  of  Paris. 
Enough,  however,  was  done  to  prove,  that  silk  raising  can  be 
carried  on  profitably,  when  due  precautions  are  taken,  as  far 
north  as  Boston.  As  this  moth  extends  to  the  tropics,  it  can  be 
reared  with  greater  facility  southwards.  The  cocoon  is  strong 
and  dense,  and  closed  at 
each  end,  so  that  the 
thread  is  continuous, 
while  the  silk  has  a  very 
strong  and  glossy  fibre. 

Next  in  value  to  the 
American  silk  worm,  is 
the  Ailanthus  silk  worm 
(Samia  Cynthia)  a  spe- 
cies allied  to  our  Callo- 
samia  Promethea.  It 
originated  from  China, 
where  it  is  cultivated, 
and  was  introduced  into 
Italy  in  1858,  and  thence 
spread  into  France,  where 
it  was  introduced  by 
M.  Guerin-Meneville.  Its 
silk  is  said  to  be  much 
stronger  than  the  fibre  of 
cotton,  and  is  a  mean  be- 
tween fine  wool  and  ordi- 
nary silk.  The  worm  is 
very  hardy,  and  can  be 
reared  in  the  open  air 
both  in  this  country  and 

in    Europe.       The    main 

54.  American  Silk  Worm, 
drawback  to  its  culture  is 

the  difficulty  in  unreeling  the  tough  cocoon,  and  the  shortness 
of  the  thread,  the  cocoon  being  open  at  one  end. 

The  Yama-mai  moth  (Anthersea  Yama-mai)  was  introduced 
into  France  from  Japan  in  1861.  It  is  closely  allied  to  the 
.Polyphemus  moth,  and  its  caterpillar  also  feeds  on  the  oak.  Its 


62 


A  FEW  WORDS  ABOUT  MOTHS. 


silk  is  said  to  be  quite  brilliant,  but  a  little  coarser  and  not  so 
strong  as  that  of  the  Bombyx  mori.  The  Perny  silk  worm  is 
extensively  cultivated  by  the  Chinese  in  Manchouria,  where  it 

feeds  on  the  oak.    Its  silk  is 
coarser  than  that  of  the  com- 
mon silk  worm,  but  is  yet  fine, 
strong  and  glossy.    Bengal  has 
furnished    the    Tussah    moth, 
which  lives  in  India  on  the  oak 
and  a  variety  of  other  trees.    It 
55.  Chrysalis  of  American          is  largely  raised  in  French  and 
Silkworm.  English    India,     according    to 

Nogues,  and  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  stuffs  called  corahs. 
The  last  kind  of  importance  is  the  Arrhindy  silk  worm,  from 
India.  It  has  been  naturalized  in  France  and  Algeria  by  M. 
Guerin-Meneville,  who  has  done  so  much  in  the  application  of 
entomology  to  practical  life.  It  is  closely  allied  to  the  Cynthia 
or  Ailanthus  worm,  with  the  same  kind  of  silk  and  a  similar 
cocoon,  and  feeds  on  the  castor  oil  plant. 

The  diseases  of  silk  worms  naturally  receive  much  attention. 
Like  those  afflicting  mankind,  they  arise  from  bad  air,  resulting 
from  too  close  confinement,  bad  food,  and  other  adverse  causes. 
The  most  fatal  and  wide-spread  disease,  and  one  which  since 
1854  has  threatened  the  extermination  of  silk  worms  in  Europe, 
is  the  pebrine.  It  is  due  to  the  presence  of  minute  vegetable 
corpuscles,  which  attack  both  the  worms  and  the  eggs.  It 
was  this  disease  which  swept  off  thousands  of  Mr.  Trouvelot's 
Polyphemus  worms, 
and  put  a  sudden  ter- 
mination to  his  im- 
portant experiments, 
the  germs  having 
been  implanted  in 
eggs  of  the  Yama- 
mai  moth  imported 
from  Japan  by  M. 
Guerin-Meneville, 


56.  Cocoon  of  American  Silk  Worm. 


and  which  were  probably  infected  as  they  passed  through  Paris. 
Though  the  disaster  happened  several  years  since,  he  tells  us 
that  it  will  be  useless  for  him  to  attempt  the  raising  of  silk 
worms  in  the  town  where  his  establishment  is  situated,  as  the 
germs  of  the  disease  are  most  difficult  to  eradicate. 


DISEASE  OF  THE  SILK  WORM. 


63 


So  direful  in  Trance  were  the  ravages  of  this  disease  that  two 
of  the  most  advanced  naturalists  in  France,  Quatrefages  and 
Pasteur,  were  commissioned  by  the  French  government  to  inves- 
tigate the  disease.  Pasteur  found  that  the  infected  eggs  differed 
in  appearance  from  the  sound  ones,  and  could  thus  be  sorted 
out  by  aid  of  the  microscope  and  destroyed.  Thus  thes'e  inves- 
tigations, carried  on  year  after  year,  and  seeming  to  the  igno- 
rant to  tend  to  no  practical  end,  resulted  in  saving  to  France 
her  silk  culture.  During  the  past  year  (1871)  so  successful  has 
his  method  proved  that  a  French  scientific  journal  expresses  the 
hope  of  the  complete  reestablishment  and  prosperity  of  this 
great  industry*  A  single  person  who  obtained  in  1871  in  his 
nurseries  30,000  ounces  of  eggs,  hopes  the  next  year  to  obtain 
100,000  ounces,  from  which  he  expects  to  realize  about  one  mil- 
lion dollars. 


•The  Potato  Caterpillar. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE     CLOTHES   MOTH.  • 

FOR  'over  a  fortnight  we  once  enjoyed  the  company  of  the 
caterpillar  of  a  common  clothes  moth.  It  is  a  little  pale,  deli- 
cate worm  (Fig.  57,  magnified),  about  the  size  of  a  darning 
needle,  and  rather  less  than  half  an  inch  in  length,  with  a  pale 
horn-colored  head,  the  ring  next  the  head  being  of  the  same 
color.  It  has  sixteen  feet,  the  first  six  of  them  well  developed 
and  constantly  in  use  to  draw  the  slender  body  in  and  out  of  it's 
case.  Its  head  is  armed  with  a  formidable  pair  of  jaws,  with 
which,  like  a  scythe,  it  mows  its  way  through  thick  and  thin. 

But  the  case  is  the  most  remarkable  feature  in  the  history 
of  this  caterpillar.  Hardly  has  the  helpless,  tiny  worm  broken 
out  of  the  egg,  previously  laid  in  some  old  garment  of  fur  or 
wool,  or  perhaps  in  the  haircloth  of  a  sofa,  when  it  begins 
to  make  a  shelter  by  cutting  the  woolly  fibres  or  soft  hairs 
into  bits,  which  it  places  at  each  end  in  successive  layers,  and, 
joining  them  together  by  silken  threads,  constructs  a  cylindrical 
tube  (Fig.  58)  of  thick,  warm  felt,  lined  within  with  the  finest 
silk  the  tiny  worm  can  spin.  The  case  is  not  perfectly  cylindri- 
cal, being  flattened  slightly  in  the  middle,  and  contracted  a  little 
just  before  each  end,  both  of  which  are  always  kept  open.  The 
case  before  us  is  of  a  stone-gray  color,  with  a  Mack  stripe  along 
the  middle,  and  with  rings  of  the  same  color  round  each  opening. 
Had  the  caterpillar  fed  on  blue  or  yellow  cloth,  the  case  would, 
of  course,  have  been  of  those  colors.  Other  cases,  made  by 
larvae  which  had  been  eating  loose  cotton,  were  quite  irregular 
in  form,  and  covered  loosely  with  bits  of  cotton  thread,  which 
the  little  tailor  had  not  trimmed  off. 

Days  go  by.  A  vigorous  course  of  dieting  on  its  feast  of 
(64) 


THE   CLOTHES   MOTH. 


65 


wool  has  given^.stature  to  our  hero.  His  case  has  grown  uncom- 
fortably small.  Shall  he  leave  it  and  make  another?  No  house- 
wife is  more  prudent  and  saving.  Out  come  those  scissor-jaws, 
and,  lo !  a  fearful  rent  along  each  side  of  one  end  of  the  case. 
Two  wedge-shaped  patches  mend  the  breach;  the  caterpillar 
retires  for  a  moment  and  reappears  at  the  other  end ;  the  scis- 
sors are  once  more  pulled  out;  two  rents  appear,  to  be  filled  up 
by  two  more  patches  or  gores,  and  our  caterpillar  once  again 
breathes  more  freely,  laughs  and  grows  fat  upon  horse  hair  and 
lambs'  wool.  In  this  way  he  enlarges  his  case  till  he  stops 
growing. 

Our  caterpillar  seeming  to  be  full-grown,  and  apparently  out 
of  employment,  we  cut  the  end  of  his  case  half  off.  Two  or 
three  clays  after,  he  had  mended  it  from  the  inside,  drawing  the 
two  edges  together  by  silken  threads,  and,  though  he  had  not 
touched  the  outside,  yet  so 
neatly  were  the  two  parts 
joined  together  that  we  had 
to  search  for  some  time, 
with  a  lens,  to  find  the  scar. 

To  keep  our  friend  busy 
during  the  cold,  cheerless 
weather,  for  it  was  mid- 
winter, we  next  cut  a  third 
of  the  case  entirely  off.  No- 
thing daunted,  the  little  fel- 
low bustled  about,  drew  in  a  mass  of  the  woolly  fibres,  filling 
up  the  whole  mouth  of  his  den,  and  began  to  build  on  afresh, 
and  from  the  inside,  so  that  the  new-made  portion  was  smaller 
than  the  rest  of  the  case.  The  creature  worked  very  slowly, 
and  the  addition  was  left  in  a  rough,  unfinished  state. 

We  could  easily  spare  these  voracious  little  worms  hairs 
enough  to  serve  as  food,  and  to  afford  material  for  the  construc- 
tion of  their  paltry  cases ;  but  that  restless  spirit  that  ever 
urges  on  all  beings  endowed  with  life  and  the  power  of  motion, 
never  forsakes  the  young  clothes  moth  for  a  moment.  He 
will  not  be  forced  to  drag  his  heavy  case  over  rough  hairs  and 
furzy  wool,  hence  with  his  keen  jaws  he  cuts  his  way  through. 
Thus,  the  more  he  travels,  the  more  mischief  he  does. 

After  taking  his  fill  of  this  sort  of  life  he  changes  to  a  chrys- 
alid  (Fig.  59),  and  soon  appears  as  one  of  those  delicate,  tiny, 


59.       58.  57. 

Early  Stages  of  the  Clothes  Moth. 


66          '  THE   CLOTHES   MOTH. 

demure  moths  that  fly  in  such  numbers  from  early  in  the  spring 
until  the  autumn. 

Very  many  do  not  recognize  these  moths  in  their  perfect 
stage,  so  small  are  they,  and  vent  their  wrath  on  those  great 
millers  that  fly  around  lamps  in  warm  summer  evenings.  It 
need  scarcely  be  said  that  these  large  millers  are  utterly  guilt- 
less of  any  attempts  upon  our  wardrobes;  they  make  their 
attacks  in  a  more  open  form  on  our  gardens  and  orchards. 

We  will  give  a  more  careful  description  of  the  clothes  moth, 
which  was  found  in  its  different  stages  June  12th  in  a  mass  of 
loose  cotton.  The  larva  is  white,  with  a  tolerably  plump  body, 
which  tapers  slightly  towards  the  tail,  while  the  head  is  much 
of  the  color  of  gum-copal.  The  rings  of  the  body  are  thickened 
above,  especially  on  the  thoracic  ones,  by  two  transverse  thick- 
ened folds.  It  is  one-fifth  of  an  inch  long. 

The  body  of  the  chrysalis,  or  pupa,  is  considerably  curved, 
with  the  head  smooth  and  rounded.  The  long  antennae,  together 
with  the  hind  legs,  which  are  folded  along  the  breast,  reach  to 
the  tip  of  the  hind  body,  on  the  upper  surface  of  each  ring  of 
which  is  a  short  transverse  row  of  minute  spines,  which  aid  the 
chrysalis  in  moving  towards  the  mouth  of  its  case,  just  before 
the  moth  appears.  At  first  the  chrysalis  is  whitish,  but  just 
before  the  exclusion  of  the  moth  becomes  the  color  of  varnish. 
When  about  to  cast  its  pupa  skin,  the  skin  splits  open  on  the 
back,  and  the  perfect  insect  glides  out.  The  act  is  so. quickly 
over  withj  that  the  observer  has  to  look  sharp  to  observe  the 
different  steps  in  the  operation. 

Our  common  clothes  moth  (Tinea  flavifrontella,  Tig.  GO)   is 
of  a  uniform  light-buff  color,  with  a  silky  iridescent  lustre,  the 
hind  wings»  and  abdomen   being  a  little   paler.     The  head   is 
thickly  tufted  with  hairs  and  is  a  little  tawny,  and 
the  upper  side  of  the  densely  hirsute  feelers  (palpi) 
is  dusky.     The  wings  are  long  and  narrow,  with  the 
most  beautiful  and  delicate  long  silken  fringe,  which 
60.  Clothes    increases  in  length  towards  the  base  of  the  wing. 

Moth.  They  begin  to  fly  in  May,  and  last  all  through  the 

season,  fluttering  with  a  noiseless,  stealthy  flight  in  our  apart- 
ments,* and  laying  their  eggs  in  our  woollens. 

Successive  broods  of  the  clothes  moth  appear  through  the 
.summer.  In  the  autumn  they  cease  eating,  retire  within  their 
cases,  and  early  in  spring  assume  the  chrysalis  state. 


THE   CLOTHES  MOTH.  67 

There  are  several  allied  species  which  have  much  the  same 
habits,  except  that^they  do  not  all  construct  cases,  but  eat  car- 
pets, clothing,  articles  of  food,  grain,  etc.,  and  objects  of  natu- 
ral history. 

Careful  housewives  are  not  much  afflicted  with  these  pests. 
The  slovenly  and  thriftless  are  overrun  with  them.  Early  in  June 
woollens  and  furs  should  be  carefully  dusted,  shaken  and  beaten. 
Dr.  T.  W.  Harris  states  that  "powdered  black  pepper,  strewed 
under  the  edge  of  carpets,  is  said  to  repel  moths.  Sheets  of 
paper  sprinkled  with  spirits  of  turpentine,  camphor  in  coarse 
powder,  leaves  of  tobacco,  or  shavings  of  Russia  leather,  should 
be  placed  among  the  clothes  when  they  are  laid  aside  for  the 
summer;  and  furs  and  other  small  articles  can  be  kept  by  being 
sewed  in  bags  with  bits  of  camphor  wood,  red  cedar,  or  of 
Spanish  cedar ;  while  the  cloth  lining  of  carriages  can  be  secured 
forever  from  the  attacks  of  moths  by  being  washed  or  sponged 
on  both  sides  with  a  solution  of  the  corrosive  sublimate  of  mer- 
cury in  alcohol,  made  just  strong  enough  not  to  leave  a  white 
stain  on  a  black  feather."  The  moths  can  be  most  readily  killed 
by  pouring  benzine  among  them,  though  its  use  must  be  much 
restricted  from  the  disagreeable  odor  which  remains.  The 
recent  experiments  made  with  carbolic  acid,  however,  convince 
us  that  this  will  soon  take  the  place  of  other  substances  as  a 
preventive  and  destroyer  of  noxious  insects. 


The  Juniper  Sickle-wing. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    MOSQUITO    AND    ITS    FRIENDS. 

THE  subject  of  flies  becomes  of  vast  moment  to  a  Pharaoh, 
whose  ears  are  dinned  with  the  buzz  of  myriad  winged  plagues, 
mingled  with  angry  cries  from  malcontent  and  fly-pestered  sub- 
jects; or  to  the  summer  traveller  in  northern  lands,  where 
they  oppose  a  stronger  barrier  to  his  explorations  than  the  lofti- 
est mountains  or  the  broadest  streams ;  or  to  the  African  pio- 
neer, whose  cattle,  his  main  dependence,  are  stung  to  death  by 
the  Tsetze  fly ;  or  the  farmer  whose  eyes  on  the  evening  of  a 
warm  spring  day,  after  a  placid  contemplation  of  his  growing 
acres  of  wheat  blades,  suddenly  detects  in  dismay  clouds  of  the 
Wheat  midge  and  Hessian  fly  hovering  over  their  swaying  tops. 
The  subject,  indeed,  has  in  such  cases  a  national  importance, 
and  a  few  words  regarding  the  main  points  in  the  habits  of  flies 
—  how  they  grow,  how  they  do  not  grow  (after  assuming  the 
winged  state),  and  how  they  bite;  for  who  has  not  endured  the 
smart  and  sting  of  these  dipterous  Shylocks,  that  almost  tor- 
ment us  out  of  our  existence  while  taking  their  drop  of  our 
heart's  blood  —  may  be  welcome  to  our  readers. 

The  Mosquito  will  be  our  first  choice.  As  she  leaps  off  from 
her  light  bark,  the  cast  chrysalis  skin  of  her  early  life  beneath 
the  waters,  and  sails  away  in  the  sunlight,  her  velvety  wings 
fringed  with  silken  hairs,  and  her  neatly  bodiced  trim  figure 
(though  her  nose  is  rather  salient,  considering  that  it  is  half  as 
long  as  her  entire  body),  present  a  beauty  and  grace  of  form  and 
movement  quite  unsurpassed  by  her  dipterous  allies.  She  draws 
near  and  softly  alights  upon  the  hand  of  the  charmed  beholder, 
subdues  her  trumpeting  notes,  folds  her  wings  noiselessly  upon 
her  back,  daintily  sets  down  one  foot  after  the  other,  and  with 
(68) 


THE   MOSQUITO. 


an  eagerness  chastened  by  the  most  refined  delicacy  for  the 
feelings  of  her  victim,  and  with  the  air  of  Velpeau  redivivus, 
drives  through  crushed  and  bleeding  capillaries,  shrinking  nerves 
and  injured  tissues,  a  many-bladed  lancet  of  marvellous  fine- 
ness, of  wonderful  complexity  and  fitness.  While  engorging 
herself  with  our  blood,  we  will  examine  under  the  microscope 
the  mosquito's  mouth.  The  head  (Fig.  61)  is  rounded,  with 
the  two  eyes  occupying  a  large  part  of  the  surface,  and  nearly 
meeting  on  the  top  of  the  head.  Out  of  the  forehead,  so  to 
speak,  grow  the  long,  delicate,  hairy  antennae  (a),  and  just  be- 
low arises  the  long  beak  which  consists  of  the  bristle-like  max- 
illae (mx,  with  their  palpi,  mp)  and  mandibles  (m),  and  the 
single  hair-like  labrum, 
these  five  bristle-like  or-" 
gans  being  laid  in  the  hol- 
lowed labium  (I).  Thus 
massed  into  a  single  awl- 
like  beak,  the  mosquito, 
without  any  apparent  effort, 
thrusts  them  all  except  the 
labium  into  the  flesh.  Her 
hind  body  may  be  seen  fill-r 
ing  with  the  red  blood,  un- 
til it  cries  quits,  and  the 
insect  withdraws  its  sting 
and  flies  sluggishly  away. 
In  a  moment  the  wounded 
parts  itch  slightly,  though 
a  very  robust  person  may 
not  notice  the  irritation,  or  a  more  delicate  individual  if  asleep ; 
though  if  weakened  by  disease,  or  if  stung  in  a  highly  vascular 
and  sensitive  part,  such  as  the  eyelid,  the  bite  becomes  really 
a  serious  matter.  Multiply  the  mosquito  a  thousand  fold,  and 
one  flees  their  attacks  and  avoids  their  haunts  as  he  would  a 
nest  of  hornets.  Early  in  spring  the  larva  (Fig.  62,  A)  of  the 
mosquito  may  be  found  in  pools  and  ditches.  It  remains  at 
the  bottom  feeding  upon  decaying  matter  (thus  acting  as  a 
scavenger,  and  in  this  state  doing  great  benefit  in  clearing 
swamps  of  miasms),  until  it  rises  to  the  surface  for  air,  which 
it  inhales  through  a  single  respiratory  tube  (n)  situated  near 
the  tail.  When  about  to  transform  into  the  pupa  state,  it 


61.  Head  of  the  Mosquito. 


70 


THE  MOSQUITO   AND  ITS   FRIENDS. 


62.  Larva  and  Tupa  of  the  Mosquito. 


contracts  and  enlarges  anteriorly  near  the  middle,  the  larval 
skin  is  thrown  off,  and  the  insect  appears  in  quite  a  different 
form  (Fig.  62,  B).  The  head  and  thorax  are  massed  together, 
the  rudiments  of  the  mouth  parts  and  of  the  wings  and  legs 
being  folded  upon  the  breast,  while  there  are  two  breathing 

tubes  (ef)  situated  upon 
the  back  instead  of  the 
tail,  which  ends  in  two 
broad  paddles  (a)  ;  so  that 
it  comes  to  the  surface, 
head  foremost  instead  of 
tail  first,  a  position  ac- 
cording better  with  its 
increased  age  and  expe- 
rience in  pond  life.  In  a 
few  days  the  pupa  skin'  is 
cast ;  the  insect,  availing  itself  of  its  old  habiliments  as  a  raft 
upon  which  to  float  while  its  body  is  drying,  grows  lighter,  and 
its  wings  expand  for  its  marriage  flight.  The  males  are  beau- 
tiful, both  physically  and  morally,  as  they  do  not  bite ;  their 
manners  are  more  retiring* than  those  of  their  stronger  minded 
partners,  as  they  rarely  enter  our  dwellings,  and  live  unnoticed 
in  the  woods.  They  may  be  easily  distinguished  from  the 
females  by  their  long  maxillary  palpi,  and  their  thick,  bushy, 
feathered  antenna.  The  female  lays  her  elongated,  oval  eggs  in 
a  boat-shaped  mass,  which  floats  on  the  water.  A  mosquito 
lives  three  or  four  weeks  in  the  water  before  changing  to  the 
adult  or  winged  stage.  How  many  days  they  live  in  the  latter 
state  we  do  not  know. 

Our  readers  will  understand,  then,  that  all  flies,  like  our  mos- 
quito for  example,  grow  while  in  the  larva  and  pupa  state,  and 
after  they  acquire  icings  do  not  grow,  so  that  the  small  midges  are 
not  young  mosquitoes,  but  the  adult  winged  forms  of  an  entirely 
different  species  and  genus  of  fly ;  and  the  myriads  of  small  flies, 
commonly  supposed  to  be  the  young  of  larger  flies,  are  adult 
forms  belonging  to  different  species  of  different  genera,  and  per- 
haps of  different  families  of  the'suborder  of  Diptera.  The  typi- 
cal species  of  the  genus  Cnlex,  to  which  the  mosquito  belongs, 
is  Culex  pipiens,  described  by  Linnaeus,  .and  there  are  already 
over  thirty  North  American  species  of  this  genus  described  in 
various  works.  Few  insects  live  in  the  sea,  but  along  the  coast 


THE   OCEAN    GNAT. 


71 


of  New  England  a  small,  slender  white  larva  (Fig.  63a,  magnified, 
and  head  greatly  enlarged ;  Fig.  64,  pupa  and  fore  foot  of  larva, 
showing  the  hooks),  whose  body  is  no  thicker  than  a  knitting 
needle,  lives  between  tides,  and  has  even  been  dredged  at  a 
depth  of  over  a  hundred  feet,  which  transforms  into  a  yellow 
mosquito-like  fly 
(Fig.  65,  with 
head  of  the  fe- 
male, magnified) 
which  swarms  in 
summer  in  im- 
mense numbers. 
I  have  -called  it 
provisionally 
Chironomus  oce- 
anicus,  or  Ocean 
gnat.  The  larvae 
of  other  species 
have  been  found 
by  Mr.  S.  I.  ' 
Smith  living  at  65.  Ocean  Gnat, 

great  depths  in  our  Northern  lakes.     These  kinds  of  gnats  are 
usually  seen  early  in  spring  hovering  in  swarms  in  mid  air. 

The  strange  fact  has  been  discovered  by  Grimm,  a  Russian 
naturalist,  that  the  pupa  of  a  feathered  gnat  is  capable  of  laying 
eggs  which  produce  young  during  the  summer  time.  Previous 
to  this  it  had  been  discovered  that  a  larva  of 
a  gnat  (Fig.  66,  a, 
eggs  from  which 
the  young  are  pro- 
duced) which  lives 
under  the  bark  of 
trees  in  Europe,  al- 
so produced  young 
born  alive. 

The    Hessian    fly 
(Fig.    67,   a,  larva; 
b  pupa;  c,  stalk  of  wheat  injured   by  larvae)  64.  Pupa  of  Ocean 
and   Wheat   midge,  which   are   allied  to   the  Gnat, 

mosquito,  are  briefly  referred  to  in  the  calendaT,  so  that  we  pass 
over  these  to  consider  another  pest  of  our  forests  and  prairies. 


63.  Larva  of  Of.ean  Gnat. 


72 


THE  MOSQUITO   AND  ITS   FRIENDS. 


The  Black  fly  is  even  a  more  formidable  pest  than  the  mos- 
quito. In  the  northern,  subarctic  regions,  it  opposes  a  barrier 
against  travel.  The  Labrador  fisherman  spends  his  summer  on 
the  sea  shore,  scarcely  daring  to  penetrate  the  interior  on  ac- 
count of  the  swarms  of  these  flies.  During  a 
summer  residence  on  this  coast,  we  sailed  up  the 
Esquimaux  river  for  six  or  eight  miles,  spending 
a  few  hours  at  a  house  situated  on  the  bank. 
The  day  was  warm  and  but  little  wind  blowing, 
and  the  swarms  of  black  flies  were  absolutely 
terrific.  In  vain  we  frantically  waved  our  net 
among  them,  allured  by  some  rare  moth;  after 
making  a  few  desperate  charges  in  the  face  of  the 
thronging  pests,  we  had  to  retire  to  the  house, 
where  the  windows  actually  swarmed  with  them  ; 
but  here  they  would  fly  in  our  faces,  crawl  under 
one's  clothes,  where  they  even  remain  and  bite 
in  the  night.  The  children  in  the  house  were 
sickly  and  worn  by  their  unceasing  torments ; 
and  the  shaggy  Newfoundland  dogs  whose  thick 
coats  would  seem  to  be  proof  against  their  bites 
ran  from  their  shelter  beneath  the  bench  and 
dashed  into  the  river,  their  only  retreat.  In 
cloudy  weather,  unlike  the  mosquito,  the  black 
fly  disappears,  only  flying  when  the  sun  shines.  The  bite  of 
the  black  fly  is  often  severe,  the  creature  leaving 
of  blood  to  mark  the  scene  \ 

of  its   surgical  triumphs. 
Prof.   E.    T.    Cox,    State 
Geologist  of  Indiana,  has 
sent  us    specimens   of   a 
iruch    larger    fly,    which 
Baron  Osten  Sacken  refers 
to   this    genus,  which    is 
called    on    the     prairies, 
where   it  is   said  to  bite 
horses  to  death,  the  Buf- 
falo   Gnat.        Westwood 
states -that    an    allied   fly    •          67.  Hessian  Fly  audits  Young, 
(lihagio  Columbaschensis)  is  one  of  the  greatest  scourges  of 
man  and  beast  in  Hungary,  where  it  has  been  known  to  kill 
cattle. 


G6.  Viviparous 
gall  larva. 


THE  BLACK   FLY. 


73 


The  Simulium  molestura  (Fig.  68,  enlarged),  as  the  black  fly 
is  called,  lives  during  the  larva  state  in  the  water.  The  larva 
of  a  Labrador  species  (Fig.  69,  enlarged)  which  we  found,  is 
about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long,  and  of  the  appearance  here  indi- 
cated. The  pupa  is  also  aquatic,  having  long  respiratory  fila- 
ments attached  to  each  side  of  the 
front  of  the  thorax.  According  to 
Westvvood,  "the  posterior  part  of  its 
body  is  enclosed  in  a  semioval  mem- 
branous cocoon,  which  is  at  first  formed^ 
by  the  larva,  the  anterior  part  of  which 
is  eaten  away  before 
changing  to  a  pupa,  so  as 
to  be  open  in  front.  The  68-  Black  F1y- 

imago  is  produced  beneath  the  surface  of  the  water, 
its  fine  silky  covering  serving  to  repel  the  action 
of  the  water." 

Multitudes  of  a  long,  slender,  white  worm  may 
often  be  found  living  in  the  dirt,  and  sour  sap  run- 
ning from  wounds  in  the  elm 
tree.  Two  summers  ago  we 
discovered  some  of  these  lar- 
va3,  and  on  rearing  them  found 
that  they  were  a  species  of 
Mycetobia  (Fig.  70 ;  a,  larva ; 
6,  pupa).  The  larva  is  remark- 
able for  having  the  abdominal 
segments  divided  into  two 
portions,  the  hinder  much 


69.  Black  Fly 
Larva. 


smaller  than  the  anterior  divi- 
sion.     Its  whole   length  is  a 

little  over  a  third  o£,  an  inch.     The  pupae 

were   found    sticking  out  in   considerable 

numbers  from  the  tree,  being  anchored  by 

the  little  spines  at  the  tail.      The  head  is 

square,  ending  in  two   horns,   and  the  body   is   straight  and 

covered  with   spines,  especially  towards  the   end  of  the   tail. 

They  were  a  fifth  of  an  inch  in  length.     The  last  of  June  the 

flies  appeared,  somewhat  resembling  gnats,  and  about  a  line 

long.    The  worms  continued  to  infest  the  tree  for  six  weeks,  the 

flies  remaining  either  upon  or  near  it. 
7 


74 


THE  MOSQUITO  AND  ITS  FRIENDS. 


We  now  come  to  that  terror  of  our  equine  friends,  the  Horse 
fly,  Gad,  or  Breeze  fly.  In  its  larval  stato,  some  species  live  in 
water,  and  in  damp  places  under  stones  and  pieces  of  wood, 
and  others  in  the  earth  away  from  water,  where  they  feed  on 
animal,  and,  probably,  on  decaying  matter.  Mr.  B.  D.  Walsh 
found  an  aquatic  larva  of  this  genus,  which,  within  a  short  time, 
devoured  eleven  water  snails.  Thus  at  this  stage  of  existence, 
this  fly,  often  so  destructive,  even  at  times  killing  our  horses,  is 
beneficial.  During  the  hotter  parts  of  summer,  and  when  the 
sun  is  shining  brightly,  thousands  of  these  Horse  flies  appear 
on  our  marshes  and  inland  prairies.  There  are  many  different 
kinds,  over  one  hundred  species  of  the  genus  Tabanus  alone, 
living  in  North  America.  Our  most  common  species  is  the 
"Green  head,"  or  Tabanus  lineola.  When  about  to  bite,  it  set- 
tles quietly  down  upon  the  hand,  face  or 
foot,  it  matters  not  which,  and  thrusts  its 
formidable  lancet-like  jaws  deep  into  the 
flesh.  Its  bite  is  very  painful,  as  we  can 
testify  from  personal  experience.  We  were 
told  during  the  last  summer  that  a  horse, 
which  stood  fastened  to  a  tree  in  a  field 
near  the  marshes  at  Rowley,  Mass.,  was 
bitten  to  death  by  these  Green  heads ;  and 
it  is  known  that  horses  and  cattle  are  occa- 
sionally killed  by  their  repeated  harassing 
bites.  In  cloudy  weather  they  do  not  fly,  and 
they  perish  on  the  cool  frosty  nights  of  September.  The  Timb, 
or  Tsetze  fly,  is  a  species  of  this  group  of  flies,  and  while  it 
does  not  attack  man,  plagues  to  death,  and  is  said  to  poison  by 
its  bite,  the  cattle  in  certain  districts  of  the  interior  of  Africa, 
thus  almost  barring  out  explorers.  On  comparing  the  mouth- 
parts  of  the  Horse  fly  (Fig.  71,  mouth  of  T.  lineola),  we  have 
all  the  parts  seen  in  the  mosquito,  but  greatly  modified.  Like 
the  mosquito,  the  females  alone  bite,  the  male  Horse  fly  being 
harmless,  and  frequenting  flowers,  living  upon  their  sweets. 
The  labrum  (Z6),  mandibles  (m)  and  maxillae  (mx),  are  short,  stiff 
and  lancet-like,  and  the  maxillary  palpi  (nip ;  a,  the  five  termi- 
nal joints  of  the  antennae)  are  large,  stout,  and  two-jointed. 
While  the  jaws  (both  maxillae  and  mandibles)  are  thrust  into 
the  flesh,  the  tongue  (Z)  spreads  around  the  tube  thus  formed  by 
the  lancets,  and  pumps  up  the  blood  flowing  from  the  wound,  by 


71.  Mouth  Parts  of 
Tabanus. 


THE   CARPET   FLY. 


75 


aid  of  the  sucking  stomach,  or  crop,  being  a  sac  appended  to  the 
throat.  Other  Gad  flies,  but  much  smaller,  though  as  annoying 
to  us  in  woods  and  fields,  are  the  species  of  Golden  eyed  flies, 
Chrysops,  which  fly  and  buzz  interminably  about  our  ears,  often 
taking  a  sudden  nip.  They  plague  cattle,  settling  upon  them 
and  drawing  their  blood  at  their  leisure. 

We  turn  to  a  comparatively  unknown  insect,  which  has  occa- 
sionally excited  some  distrust  in  the  minds  of  housekeepers.  It 
is  the  carpet  fly,  Scenopiuus  pallipes  (Fig.  72),  which,  in  the 
Inrva  state,  is 
found  under  car- 
pets, on  which  it 
is  said  to  feed. 
The  worm  (Fig. 
73)  has  a  long, 
white,  cylindrical 
body,  divided  into 
twelve  segments, 
exclusive  of  the 
head,  while  the 
first  eight  abdom- 
inal segments  are  72-  CarPet  F]y- 
divided  by  a  transverse  suture,  so  that  there  appear  to  be  seven- 
teen abdominal  segments,  the  sutures  appearing  too  distinct  in 
the  cut.  Mr.  F.  G.  Sanborn  has  reared  the  fly,  here  figured, 
from  the  worm.  The  larva  also  lives  in  rotten  wood ; 
it  is  too  scarce  ever  to  prove  very  destructive  in 
houses.  Either  this  or  a  similar  fly  was  once  found, 
we  are  told  by  a  scientific  friend,  in  great  numbers  in 
a  "rat"  used  in  dressing  a  young  lady's  hair;  the 
worms  were  living  upon  the  hair  stuffing. 

One  of  the  most  puzzling  objects  to  the  collector 
of  shells  or  insects,  is  the  almost  spherical  larva  of 
Microdon  globosus  (Fig.  74).  It  is  flattened  and 
smooth  beneath  and  seems  to  adhere*  to  the  under 
side  of  stones,  where  it  might  be  mistaken  for  a 
snail. 

The  Syrphus  fly,  or  Aphis  eater,  deserves  more  than 
the  passing  notice  which  we  bestow  upon  it.    The 
maggot  (Fig.  75,  in  the  act  -of  devouring  an  Aphis)  is  to  -be 
sought  for  established  in  a  group  of  plant  lice  (Aphis),  which  it 


73.  Carpet 
Worm. 


7G 


THE   MOSQUITO    AND   ITS   FRIENDS. 


seizes  by  means  of  the  long  extensible  front  part  of  the  body. 
The  adult  fly  (Fig.  7G)  is  gayly  spotted  and  banded  with  yellow, 
resembling  closely  a  wasp.  It  frequents  flowers. 

The  singular  rat-tailed  pupa-case  of  Eristalis  (Fig.  77)  lives 
in  water,  and  when  in  want  of  air,  protrudes  its  long  respiratory 
tube  out  into  the  air.  We  present  the  figure  of  an  allied  fly, 
Merodon  Bardus  (Fig.  78;  a,  puparium,  natural  size).  We  will 


74.  Microdon. 


5.  Syrphus  Larva. 


76.  Syrphus  Fly. 

not  describe  at  length  the  fly,  as  the  admirable  drawings  of  Mr. 
Emerton  cannot  fail  to  render  it  easily  recognizable.  The  larva 
is  much  like  the  puparium  or  pupa  case,  here  figured,  which 
closely  resembles  that  of  Eristalis,  in  possessing  a  long  respira- 
tory filament,  showing  that  the  maggot  undoubtedly  lives  in  the 


77.  Larva  of  Rat-tailed  Fly. 


78.  Rat-tailed  Fly  and  its  Pupa. 

water,  and  wffen  desirous  of  breathing,  protrudes  the  tube  out 
of  the  water,  thus  drawing  in  air  enough  to  fill  its  internal  res- 
piratory tubes  (trachea).  The  Merodon  Narcissa  probably  lives 
in  the  soil,  or  in  rotten  wood,  as  the  pupa-case  has  no  respira- 
tory tube,  having  instead  a  very  short,  sessile,  truncated  tube, 
scarcely  as  long  as  it  is  thick.*  The  case  itself  is  cylindrical,  and 
rounded  alike  at  each  end. 


THE   EOT   FLY. 


77 


We  now  come  to  the  Bot  flies,  which  are  among  the  most 

extraordinary,  in  their  habits,  of  all  insects.    The  history  of  the 

Bot  flies  is  in  brief  thus.    The  adult  two-winged  fly  lays  its  eggs 

on  the  exterior  of  the  animal  to  be  infested.    They  are  conveyed 

into  the  interior  of  the  host,  where  they  hatch,  and  the  worm  or 

maggot  lives  by  sucking  in  the  purulent 

matter,  caused  by  the  irritation  set  up  by 

its  presence  in  its  host ;  or  else  the  worm 

itself,  after  hatching,  bores  under  the  skin. 

When  fully  grown,  it  quits   the  body  and 

finishes  its  transformations  to  the  fly-state 

under    ground.      Many  quadrupeds,   from 

mice,  squirrels,  and  rabbits,  up  to  the  ox, 

horse,  and  even  the  rhinoceros,  suffer  from 

their  attacks,   while  man    himself   is  not 

exempt.     The  body  of  the  adult  fly  is  stout 

and  hairy,  and  it  is  easily  recognized  by 

having  the  opening  of  the  mouth  very  small* 

the  mouth-parts  being  very  rudimentary. 

The  larvae  are,   in  general,   thick,   fleshy, 

footless  grubs,  consisting  of  eleven  seg- 
ments, exclusive  of  the  head,  which  are  covered  with  rows  of 

spines  and  tubercles,  by  which  they  move  about  within  the  body? 

thus  irritating  the  animals 
in  which  they  take  up  their 
abode.  The  breathing  pores 
(stigmata)  open  in  a  scaly 
plate  at  the  posterior  end 
of  the  body.  The  mouth- 
parts  (mandibles,  etc.)  of 
the  subcutaneous  larva?  con- 
sist of  fleshy  tubercles,  while 
in  those  species  which  live 
in  the  stomachs  and  frontal 
sinuses  of  their  host,  they 
are  armed  with  horny  hooks. 
The  larvae  attain  their  full 
size  after  moulting  twice. 


79.  Human  Bot  Wornu 


80.  Horse  Bot  Fly. 


Just  before  assuming  the  pupa  state,  the  maggot  leaves  its  pecu- 
liar dwelling  place,  descends  into  the  ground  and  there  becomes 
a  pupa,  though  retaining  its  larval  skin,  which  serves  as  a  pro- 
tection to  it,  whence  it  is  called  a  "pupariunu" 


78 


THE   MOSQUITO   AND   ITS   FRIENDS. 


Several  well-authenticated  instances  are  on  record  of  a  species 
of  bot  fly  inhabiting  the  body  of  man,  in  Central  and  South 
America,  producing  painful  tumors  under  the  skin  of  the  arm, 
legs  and  abdomen.  It  is  still  under  dispute  whether  this  humnn 
bot  fly  is  a  true  or  accidental  parasite,  the  more  probable  opin- 


81.  Bot  Fly  of  Ox,  and  Larva. 

ion  being  that  its  proper  host  is  the  monkey  or  dog.  In 
Cayenne,  this  revolting  grub  is  called  the  Ver  macaque  (Fig.  79)  ; 
in  Para,  Ura ;  in  Costa  Rica,  Torcel ;  and  in  New  Granada,  Gusano 
peludo,  or  Nuche.  The  Dermatobia  noxialis,  supposed  to  be  the 
Ver  moyocuil  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Mexico  and  New  Gra- 
nada, lives  beneath  the  skin  of 
the  dog. 

The  Bot  fly  of  the 
horse,  (Gastrophilus 
equi,  Fig.  80  and  lar- 
va), is  pale  yellowish, 
spotted  with  red,  wTith 
short,  grayish,  yellow 
82.  Sheep  hairs,  and  the  wings 

Bot.     are   banded  with  red-  8o  Skin  Bjt  F1 , 

dish.     She  lays  her  eggs  upon 

the  knees  of  the  horse.  They  are  conveyed  into  the  stomach, 
where  the  larva  lives  from  May  until  October,  and  when  full 
grown  are  found  hanging  by  their  mouth  hooks  on  the  edge  of 
the  rectum  of  the  horse,  -whence  they  are  carried  out  in  the 


THE   BOX   FLY.  79 

excrement.  The  pupa  state  lasts  for  thirty  or  forty  days,  and 
the  perfect  fly  appears  the  next  season,  from  June  until  October. 

The  Bot  fly  of  the  ox  (Hypoderma  bovis,  Fig.  81,  and  lar- 
va), is  black  and  densely  hairy,  and  the  thorax  is  banded  with 
yellow  and  white.  Tffe  larva  is  found  during  the  month  of  May, 
and  also  in  summer,  living  in  tumors  on  the  backs  of  cattle. 
When  fully  grown,  which  is  generally  in  July,  they  make  their 
way  out  and  fall  to  the  ground,  and  live  in  the  pupa-case  from 
twenty-six  to  thirty  days,  the  fly  appearing  from  May  until  Sep- 
tember. It  is  found  all  over  the  world.  The  CEstrus  ovis,  or 
sheep  Bot  fly  (Fig.  82,  larva),  is  of  a  dirty  ash  color.  The 
abdomen  is  marbled  with  yellowish  and  white  flecks,  and  is 
hairy  at  the  end.  This  species  of  Bot  fly  is  larviparous,  i.  e., 
the  eggs  are  hatched  within  the  body  of  the  mother,  the  Iarva3 
being  produced  alive.  M.  F.  Brauer,  of  Vienna,  the  author  of 
the  most  thorough  work  we  have  on  these  flies,  tells  me  that  he 
knows  of  but  one  other  Bot  fly  (a  species  of  Cephanomyia) 
which  produces  living  larvae  instead  of  eggs.  The  eggs  of  cer- 
tain other  species  of  Bot  flies  do  not  hatch  until  three  or  four 
days  after  they  are  laid.  The  larva?  of  the  sheep  Bot  fly  live, 
during  April,  May  and  June,  in  the  frontal  sinus  of  the  sheep, 
and  also  in  the  nasal  cavity,  whence  they  fall  to  the  ground 
when  fully  grown.  In  twenty-four  hours  they  change  to  pupa3~, 
and  the  flies  appear  during  the  summer. 

We  also  figure  the  Cuterebra  buccata  (Fig.  83 ;  «,  side  view,) 
which  resembles  in  the  larval  state  the  ox  Bot  fly.  Its  habits 
are  not  known,  though  the  young  of  other  species  infest  the 
opossum,  squirrel,  hare,  etc.,  living  in  subcutaneous  tumors. 


l^W 


The  banded  Lithacodes. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE   HOUSE   FLY   AND   ITS   ALLIES. 


THE  common  House  fly,  Musca  domestica,  scarcely  needs  an 
introduction  to  any  one  of  our  readers,  and  its  countenance  is  so 
well  known  that  we  need  not  present  a  portrait  here.  But  a 
study  of  the  proboscis  of  the  fly  reveals  a  wonderful  adapta- 
bility of  the  mouth-parts  of  this  insect  to  their  uses.  We  have 
already  noticed  the  most  perfect  con- 
dition of  these  parts  as  seen  in  the 
horse  fly.  In  the  proboscis  of  the 
house  fly  the  hard  parts  are  obsolete, 
and  instead  we  have  a  fleshy  tongue- 
like  organ  (Fig.  84),  bent  up  beneath 
the  head  when  at  rest.  The  maxillse 
are  minute,  their  palpi  (mp)  being 
single-jointed,  and  the  mandibles  (m) 
are  comparatively  useless,  being  very 
short  and  small,  compared  with  the 
lancet-like  jaws  of  the  mosquito  or 
horse  fly.  But  the  structure  of  the 
tongue  itself  (labium,  Z)  is  most  curi- 
ous. When  the  fly  settles  upon  a 
lump  of  sugar  or  other  sweet  object,  it  unbends  its  tongue, 
extends  it,  and  the  broad  knob-like  end  divides  into  two  broad, 
flat,  muscular  leaves  (Z),  which  thus  present  a  sucker-like  sur- 
face, with  which  the  fly  laps  up  liquid  sweets.  These  two 
leaves  are  supported  upon  a  framework  of  tracheal  tubes.  In 
the  cut  given  above,  Mr.  Emerton  has  faithfully  represented  these 
modified  tracheae,  which  end  in  hairs  projecting  externally. 
(80) 


84.  Mouth-parts  of  the 
House  fly. 


THE   COMMON   HOUSE   FLY. 


81 


Thus  the  inside  of  this  broad  fleshy  expansion  is  rough  like  a 
rasp,  and  as  Newport  states,  "is  easily  employed  by  the  insect 
in  scraping  or  tearing  delicate  surfaces.  It  is  by  means  of  this 
curious  structure  that  the  busy  house  fly  occasions  much  mis- 
chief to  the  covers  of  our  books,  by  scraping  off  the  albuminous 
polish,  and  leaving  tracings  of  its  depredations  in  the  soiled  and 
spotted  appearance  which  it  occasions  on  them.  It  is  by  means 
of  these  also  that  it  teases  us  in  the  heat  of  summer,  when  it 
alight*  on  the  hand  or  face  to  sip  the  perspiration  as  it  exudes 
from,  and  is  condensed  upon,  the  skin." 

Every  one  notices  that  house  flies  are  most  abundant  around 
barns  in  August  and  September,  and  it  is  in  the  ordure  of  sta- 
bles that  the  early  stages  of  this  insect  are  passed.  No  one 
has  traced  the  transformations  of 
this  fly  in  our  country,  but  we  copy 
from  Bouche's  work  on  the  trans- 
formations of  insects,  the  rather 
rude  figures  of  the  larva  (Fig.  85), 
and  pupa-case  (a)  of  the  Musca 
domestica  of  Europe,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  our  species.  Bouche 
states  that  the  larva  is  cylindrical, 
rounded  posteriorly,  smooth  and  shin- 
ing, fleshy,  and  yellowish  white,  and 
four  lines  long.  The  pupa-case,  or 
puparium,  is  dark  reddish-brown,  and 
three  lines  in  length.  It  remains  in 
the  pupa  state  from  eight  to  fourteen 
days.  In  Europe  it  is  preyed  upon 
by  minute  ichneumon  flies  (Chalcids).  The  flesh  fly,  Musca 
Ciesar,  or  the  Bine-bottle  fly,  feeds  upon  decaying  animal  mat- 
ter. Its  larva  (Fig.  86)  is  long,  cylindrical,  the  head  being 
pointed,  and  the  body  conical,  the  posterior  end  being  squarely 
docked.  The  larva  of  a  Sargus-like  form  which  feeds  on  offal, 
transforms  into  a  flattened  pupa-case  (Fig.  87),  provided  with 
long,  scattered  hairs.  The  House  fly  disappears  in  autumn,  at 
the  approach  of  cold  weather,  though  a  few  individuals  pass 
through  the  winter,  hibernating  in  houses,  and  when  the  rooms 
are  heated  may  often  be  seen  flying  on  the'  windows.  Other 
species  fly  early  in  March,  on  warm  days,  having  hibernated 
under  leaves,  and  the  bark  of  trees,  moss,  etc.  An  allied  spe- 


S5.  Larva ;  a, 
Pupa-cage  of 
House  fly. 


Larva  of 
Flesh  fly. 


82 


THE  HOUSE  FLY  AND   ITS  ALLIES. 


87.  Larva  of  a 
Sargus-like  fly. 


cies,  the  M.  vomitoria,  is  the  Meat  fly.  Closely  allied  are  the 
parasitic  species  of  Tachina,  which  live  within  the  bodies  of 
caterpillars  and  other  insects,  and  are  among  the  most  beneficial 
of  insects,  as  they  prey  on  thousands  of  injurious  caterpillars. 
Another  fly  of  this  Muscid  group,  the  Idia 
Bigoti,  according  to  Coquerel  and  Mondiere, 
produces  in  the  natives  of  Senegal,  hard,  red, 
fluctuating  tumors,  in  which  the  larva  resides. 
Many  of  the  smaller  Muscids  mine  -leaves, 
running  galleries  within  the  leaf,  or  burrowing 
in  seeds  or  under  the  bark  of  plants.  We  have 
often  noticed  blister-like  swellings  on  the 
bark  of  the  willow,  which  are  occasioned  by  a 
cylindrical,  short,  fleshy  larva  (Fig.  88  a,  much 
enlarged),  about  aline  in  length,  which  changes 
to  a  pupa  within  the  old  larval  skin,  assuming 
the  form  here  represented  (Fig.  88&),  and  about 
the  last  of  June  changes  to  a  small  black  fly 
(Fig.  88),  which  Baron  Osten  Sacken  refers  doubtfully  to  the 
genus  Lonchaaa. 

The  Apple  midge  frequently  does  great  mischief  to  apples 
after  they  are  gathered.  Mr.  F.  G.  Sanborn  states  that  uine- 
tenths  of  the  apple  crop  in  Wrentham,  Mass.,  were  destroyed 
by  a  fly  supposed  to  be  the  Molobrus  mali,  or  Apple  midge, 

described  by  Dr. 
a  Fitch.      "The 

eggs  were  sup- 
posed to  have 
been  laid  in 
fresh  apples,  in 
the  holes  made 
by  the  Coddling- 
m  o  t  h  (Carpo- 
88.  Willow  Blister  fly.  capsapomo- 

nella),  whence  the  larvae  penetrated  into  all  parts  of  the  apple, 
working  small  cylindrical  burrows  about  one-sixteenth  of  an 
inch  in  diameter."  Mr.  W.  C.  Fish  has  also  sent  me,  from 
Sandwich,  Mass.,  specimens  of  another  kind  of  apple  worm, 
which  he  writes  has  been  very  common  in  Barnstable  county. 
"It  attacks  mostly  the  earlier  varieties,  seeming  to  have  a  par- 
ticular fondness  for  the  old  fashioned  Summer,  or  High-top 


APPLE   WORMS. 


83 


Sweet.  The  larva?  (Fig.  89  a)  enter  the  fruit  usually  where  it 
has  been  bored  by  the  Apple  worm  (Carpocapsa),  not  uncom- 
monly through  the  crescent-like  puncture  of  the  curculio,  and 
sometimes  through  the  calyx,  when  it  has  not  been  troubled  by 
other  insects.  Many 
of  them  arrive  at  ma- 
turity in  August,  and 
the  fly  soon  appears, 
successive  genera- 
tions of  the  maggots 
following  until  cold 
weather.  I  have  fre- 
quently found  the 
pupa?  in  the  bottom  89'  APPle  Worm  »nd  its  Larva, 

of  barrels  in  a  cellar  in  the  winter,  and  the  flies  appear  in  the 
spring.  In  the  early  apples,  the  larvae  work  about  in  every 
direction.  If  there  be  several  in  an  apple,  they  make  it  unfit 
for  use.  Apples  that  appear  perfectly  sound  when  taken  from 

the  tree, 
will  some- 
times,  if 
kept,  be 
a  1 1  alive 
with  them 
in  a  few 
weeks." 
Baron  Os- 
ten  Sacken 
informs 

me  that  it 
90.  Parent  of  the  Cheese  Maggot.  jg  a  j)roso_ 

phila,  "the  species  of  which  live  in  putrescent  vegetable  matter, 
especially  fruits." 

An  allied  fly  is  the  parent  of  the  cheese  maggot.  The  fly 
itself  (Piophila  casei,  Fig.  90)  is  black,  with  metallic  green 
reflections,  and  the  legs  are  dark  and  paler  at  the  knee-joints, 
the  middle  and  hind  pair  of  tarsi  being  dark  honey  yellow. 
The  Wine  fly  is  also  a  Piophila,  and  lives  the  life  of  a  perpetual 
toper  in  old  wine  casks,  and  partially  emptied  beer,  cider  and 
wine  bottles,  where,  with  its  pupa-case  (Fig.  91),  it  may  be 
found  floating  dead  in  its  favorite  beverage. 


84  THE   HOUSE   FLY  AND   ITS   ALLIES. 

We  now  come  to  the  more  degraded  forms  of  flies  which 
live  parasitically  on  various  animals.  We  figure,  from  a  speci- 
men in  the  Museum  of  the  Peabody  Academy  of  Science,  the 
Bird  tick  (Ornithomyia,  Fig.  92),  which  lives  upon  the  Great 
Homed  Owl.  Its'  body  is  much  flattened,  adapted  for  its  life 

under  the  feath- 
ers, where  it 
gorges  itself  with 
the  blood  of  its 
host. 

Here  belongs 
also  the  Horse 
tick  (Hippobosca 
equina,  Fig.  93). 
It  is  about  the 
size  of  the  house 
fly,  being  black, 
with  yellow  spots 
on  the  thorax.  Verrill*  says  that  "it  attacks  by  preference 
those  parts  where  the  hair  is  thinnest  and  the  skin  softest, 
especially  under  the  belly  and  between  the  hind  legs.  Its  bite 
causes  severe  pain,  and  will  irritate  the  gentlest  horses,  often 
rendering  them 
almost  unman- 
ageable, and 
causing  them  to 
kick  dangerously. 
When  found,  they 
cling  so  tirmly  as 
to  be  removed 
with  some  diffi- 
culty, and  they 
are  so  tough  as 
not  to  be  readily 

crushed.      If  one 

93.  The  Horse  Tick, 
escapes  when  cap- 
tured, it  will  instantly  return  to  the  horse,  or,  perchance,  to  the 


*The  External  and  Internal  Parasites  of  Man  and  Domestic  Animals.  By  Prof. 
A.  E.  Verrill,  1870.  We  are  indebted  to  the  author  for  the  use  of  this  and  the  fig- 
ures of  the  Bot  fly  of  the  horse,  the  turkey,  duck  and  hog  louse,  the  cattle  tick,  the 
itch  insect  and  mange  insect  of  the  horse. 


THE   SHEEP   TICK. 


85 


94.  Sheep  Tick. 


head  of  its  captor,  where  it  is  an  undesirable  guest.    Another 
species  sometimes  infests  the  ox." 

In  the  wingless  Sheep  tick  (Melophagns  ovinus,  Fig.  94,  with 
the  pupa-case  on  the  left),  the  body  is  wingless  and  very  hairy, 
and  the  proboscis  is  very  long.  The  young  are  developed  within 
the  body  of  the  parent,  until  they  attain  the  pupa  state,  when 
she  deposits  the  pupa- 
case,  which  is  nearly 
half  as  large  as  her 
abdomen.  Other  gen- 
era are  parasitic  on 
bats ;  among  them  are 
the  singular  spider- 
like  Bat  ticks  (Nycte- 
ribia,  Fig.  95),  which 
have  small  bodies  and 
enormous  legs,  and  are  either  blind,  or 
provided  with  four  simple  eyes.  They 
are  of  small  size,  being  only  a  line  or  two 

in  length.     Such   degraded  95.  Bat  Tick. 

forms  of  Diptera  have  a  remarkable  resemblance  to 

the  spiders,  mites,  ticks,  etc.     The   reader  should 

compare  the  Nycteribia  with  the  young  six- footed 

moose  tick  figured  farther  on.  Another 

spider-like  fly  is  the   Chionea  valga 

(Fig.  96;  and  97,  larva  of  the  European 

species),  which  is  a  degraded  Tipula, 

the  latter    genus   standing   near  the 

head  of  the  Diptera.     The   Chionea, 

according  to  Harris,  lives  in  its  early 

stages  in  the  ground  like  many  other 

gnats,  and  is  found  early  in  the  spring, 

sometimes   crawling  over  the  snow. 

We  have  also  figured  and  mentioned  96'  Spider   fly> 

previously  (page  41)  the  Bee  louse,  Braula,  another 

wingless  spider-like  fly. 

The  Flea  is  also  a  wingless  fly,  and  is  probably,  as 
97.  Larva  of  has   been   suggested   by   an   eminent    entomologist, 
Spider  fly.    as  Baron  Osten  Sacken  informs  us,  a  degraded  genus 
of  the  family  to  which  Mycetobia  belongs.     Its  transformations 
are  very  unlike  those  of  the  fly  ticks,  and  agree  closely  with  the 
8 


86 


THE    HOUSE   FLY  AND   ITS   ALLIES. 


early  stages  of  Mycetophila,  one  of  the  Tipulid  family.  In  its 
adult  condition  the  flea  combines  the  characters  of  the  Diptera, 
with  certain  features  of  the  grasshoppers  and  cockroaches,  and 
the  bugs.  The  body  of  the  flea  (Fig.  98,  greatly  magnified ;  a, 
antennae ;  6,  maxillae,  and  their  palpi,  c ;  d,  mandibles ;  the  lat- 
ter, with  the  labium,  which  is  not  shown  in  the  figure,  forming 
_  ^  ^  r  w  the  acute 

beak)  is 
much  com- 
pressed, 
and  there 
are  minute 
wing -pads, 
instead  of 
wings,  pre- 
s  e  n  t  in 
some  spe- 
cies. 

Dr.  G.  A. 
Flea,  magnified.  Perkins,  of 

Salem,  has  succeeded  in  rearing  in  considerable  numbers  from 
the  eggs,  the  larvae  of  this  flea.  The  larvae  (Fig.  99,  much 
enlarged;  «,  antenna;  b,  the  terminal  segments  of  the  abdo- 
men), when  hatched,  are  half  a  line  in 
length.  The  body  is  long,  cylindrical,  and 
pure  white,  with  thirteen  segments  exclu- 
sive of  the  head,  and  provided  with  rather 
long  hairs.  It  is  very  active  in  its  move- 
ments, and  lives  on  blood  clots,  remaining 
on  unswept  floors  of  out-houses,  or  in 
the  straw  or  bed  of  the  animals  they 
infest.  In  six  clays  after  the  eggs  are 
laid  the  larvae  appear,  and  in  a  few  days 
after  leaving  the  egg  they  mature,  spin  a 
rude  cocoon,  and  change  to  pupse,  and  the 
perfect  insects  appear  in  about  ten  days. 
A  good  authority  states  that  the  human  flea  does  not  exist  in 
America.  We  never  saw  a  specimen  in  this  country. 

A  practical  point  is  how  to  rid  dogs  of  fleas.  As  a  preventive 
measure,  we  would  suggest  the  frequent  sweeping  and  cleansing 
of  the  floors  of  their  kennels,  and  renewing  the  straw  or  chips 


THE   CHIGOE.  87 

composing  their  beds,  —  chips  being  the  best  material  for  them 
to  sleep  upon.  Flea  afflicted  dogs  should  be  washed  every  few 
days  in  strong  soapsuds,  or  weak  tobacco  or  petroleum  water. 

A  writer  in  "Science-Gossip"*'  recommends  the  "use  of  the 
Persian  Insect  Destroyer,  one  package  of  which  suffices  for  a 
good  sized  clog.  The  powder  should  be  well  rubbed  in  all  over 
the  skin,  or  the  dog,  if  small,  can  be  put  into  a  bag  previously 
dusted  with  the  powder :  in  either  case  the  dog  should  be  washed 
soon  after." 

One  of  the  most  serious  insect  torments  of  the  tropics  of 
America  is  the  Sarcopsylla  pen- 
etrans,  called  by  the  natives  the 
Jigger,  Chigoe,  Bicho,  Cinque, 
or  Pique  (Fig-  100,  enlarged ;  a, 
gravid  female,  natural  size). 
The  female,  during  the  dry  sea- 
son, bores  into  the  feet  of  the  m  Chis°c- 
natives,  the  operation  requiring  but  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  usu- 
ally penetrating  under  the  nails,  and  lives  there  until  her  body 
becomes  distended  with  eggs,  the  hind-body  swelling  out  to  the 
size  of  a  pea;  her  presence  often  causes  distressing  sores.  The 
Chigoe  lays  about  sixty  eggs,  depositing  them  in  a  sort  of  sac 
on  each  side  of  the  external  opening  of  the  oviduct.  The  young 
develop  and  feed  upon  the  swollen  body  of  the  parent  flea  until 
they  mature,  when  they  leave  the  body  of  their  host  and  escape 
to.  the  ground.  The  best  preventive  is  cleanliness  and  the  con- 
stant wearing  of  shoes  or  slippers  when  in  the  house,  and  of 
boots  when  out  of  doors. 


The  Willow  Gall  Fly. 


CHAPT,ER    VIII. 

» 

THE  BORERS  OF  OUR  SHADE  TREES. 

IN  no  way  can  the  good  taste  and  public  spirit  of  our  citizens 
be  better  shown  than  in  the  planting  of  shade  trees.  Regarded 
simply  from  a  commercial  point  of  view  one  cannot  make  a 
more  paying  investment  than  setting  out  an  oak,  elm,  maple 
or  other  shade  tree  about  his  premises.  To  a  second  gener- 
ation it  becomes  a  precious  heirloom,  and  the  planter  is  duly 
held  in  remembrance  for  those  finer  qualities  of  heart  and  head, 
and  the  wise  forethought  which  prompted  a  deed  simple  and 
natural,  but  a  deed  too  often  undone.  What  an  increased  value 
does  a  fine  avenue  of  shade  trees  give  to  real  estate  in  a 
city  ?  And  in  the  country  the  single  stately  elm  rising  grace- 
fully and  benignantly  over  the  wayside  cottage,  year  after  year 
like  a  guardian  angel  sending  down  its  blessings  of  shade, 
moisture  and  coolness  in  times  of  drought,  and  shelter  from  the 
pitiless  storm,  recalls  the  tenderest  associations  of  generation 
after  generation  that  go  from  the  old  homestead. 

Occasionally  the  tree,  or  a  number  of  them,  sicken  and  die,  or 
linger  out  a  miserable  existence,  and  we  naturally  after  failing 
to  ascribe  the  cause  to  bad  soil,  want  of  moisture  or  adverse 
atmospheric  agencies,  conclude  that  the  tree  is  infested  with 
insects,  especially  if  the  bark  in  certain  places  seems  diseased. 
Often  the  disease  is  in  streets  lighted  by  gas,  attributed  to  the 
leakage  of  the  gas.  Such  a  case  has  come  up  recently  at  Mor- 
ristown,  New  Jersey.  An  elm  was  killed  by  the  Elm  borer 
(Compsidea  tridentata),  and  the  owner  was  on  the  point  of 
suing  the  Gas  Company  for  the  loss  of  the  tree  from  the  sup- 
posed leakage  of  a  gas  pipe.  While  the  matter  was  in  dispute, 
a  gentleman  of  that  city  took  the  pains  to  peel  off  a  piece  of  the 
(88) 


THE   ELM   BORER.  89 

bark  and  found,  as  he  wrote  me,  "great  numbers  of  the  larvae 
of  this  beetle  in  the  bark  and  between  the  bark  and  the  wood, 
while  the  latter  is  'tattooed'  with  sinuous  grooves  in  every 
direction  and  the  tree  is  completely  girdled  by  them  if!  some 
places.  There  are  three  different  sizes  of  the  larvae,  evidently 
one,  two  and  three  years  old,  or  more  properly  six,  eighteen  and 
thirty  months  old."  The  tree  had  to  be  cut  down. 

Dr.  Harris,  in  his  "Treatise  on  Injurious  Insects,"  gives  an 
account  of  the  -ravages  of  this  insect,  which  we  quote :  "  On 
the  19th  of  June,  184G,  Theophilus  Parsons,  Esq.,  sent  me  some 
fragments  of  bark  and  insects  which  were  taken  by  Mr.  J.  Rich- 
ardson from  the  decaying  elms  on  Boston  Common,,  and  among 
the  insects  I  recognized  a  pair  of  these  beetles  in  a  living  state. 
The  trees  were  found  to  have  suffered  terribly  from  the  ravages 
of  these  insects.  Several  of  them  had  already  been  cut  down, 
as  past  recovery ;  others  were  in  a  dying  state,  and  nearly  all 
of  them  were  more  or  less  affected  with  disease  or  premature 
decay.  Their  bark  was  perforated,  to  the  height  of  thirty  feet 
from  the  ground,  with  numerous  holes,  through  which  insects 
had  escaped;  and  large  pieces  had  become  so  loose,  by  the 
undermining  of  the  grubs,  as  to  yield  to  slight  efforts,  and  come 
off  in  flakes.  The  inner  bark  was  filled  with  burrows  of  the 
grubs,  great  numbers  of  which,  in  various  stages  of  growth, 
together  with  some  in  the  pupa  state,  were  found  therein ;  and 
even  the  surface  of  the  wood,  in  many  cases,  was  furrowed  with 
their  irregular  tracks.  Very  rarely  did  they  seem  to  have  pene- 
trated far  into  the  wood  itself;  but  their  operations  were  mostly 
confined  to  the  inner  layers  of  the  bark,  which  thereby  became 
loosened  from  the  wood  beneath.  The  grubs  rarely  exceed 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  length.  They  have  no  feet,  and 
they  resemble  the  larvae  of  other  species  of  Saperda,  except 
in  being  rather  more  flattened.  They  appear  to  complete  their 
transformations  in  the  third  year  of  their  existence. 

"The  beetles  probably  leave  their  holes  in  the  bark  during 
the  month  of  June  and  in  the  beginning  of  July ,  for,  in  the 
course  of  thirty  years,  I  have  repeatedly  taken  them  at  various 
dates,  from  the  fifth  of  June  to  the  tenth  of  July.  It  is  evident, 
from  the  nature  and  extent  of  their  depredations,  that  these 
insects  have  alarmingly  hastened  the  decay  of  the  elm  trees  on 
Boston  Mall  and  Common,  and  that  they  now  threaten  their 
entire  destruction.  Other  causes,  however,  have  probably  con- 


90 


THE  BORERS  OF  OUR  SHADE- TREES. 


tributed  to  the  same  end.  It  will  be  remembered  that  these 
trees  have  greatly  suffered,  in  past  times,  from  the  ravages  of 
canker-worms.  Moreover,  the  impenetrable  state  of  the  sur- 
face SQJI,  the  exhausted  condition  of  the  subsoil,  and  the  depri- 
vation of  all  benefit  from  the  decomposition  of  accumulated 
leaves,  which,  in  a  state  of  nature,  the  trees  would  have  enjoyed, 
but  which  a  regard  for  neatness  has  industriously  removed,  have 
doubtless  had^  no  small  influence  in  diminishing  the  vigor  of 
the  trees,  and  thus  made  them  fall  unresistingly  a  prey  to  insect- 
devourers.  The  plan  of  this  work  precludes 
a  more  full  consideration  of  these  and  other 
topics  connected  with  the  growth  and  decay 
of  these  trees ;  and  I  can  only  add,  that  it 
may  be  prudent  to  cut  down  and  burn  all  that 
are  much  infested  by  the  borers." 

The  Three-toothed  Compsidea  (Fig.  101), 
is  a  rather  flat-bodied,  dark  brown  beetle, 
101.  Elm  Tree  Beetle.  with  &  rusty  red  curved  line  behind  the  eyes, 

two  stripes  on  the  thorax,  and  a  three-toothed  stripe  on  the  outer 
edge  of  each  wing  cover.  It  is  about  one-half  an  inch  in  length. 
The  larva  (Fig.  102)  is  white,  subcylindrical,  a  little  flattened, 
with  the  lateral  fold  of  the  body  rather  prominent ;  the  end  of 
the  body  is  flattened,  obtuse,  and  nearly  as 
wide  at  the  end  as  at  the  first  abdominal  ring. 
The  head  is  one-half  as  wide  as  the  prothoracic 
ring,  being  rather  large.  The  prothoracic  ring, 
or  segment  just  behind  the  head,  is  transversely 
oblong,  being  twice  as  broad  as  long ;  there"  is 
a  pale  dorsal  corneous  transversely  oblong 
shield,  being  about  two- thirds  as  long  as  wide, 
and  nearly  as  long  as  the  four  succeeding  seg- 
ments ;  this  plate  is  smooth,  except  on  the  pos- 
terior half,  which  is  rough,  with  the  front  edge 
irregular  and  not  extending  far  down  the  sides. 
Fine  hairs  arise  from  the  front  edge  and  side  of 
the  plate,  and  similar  hairs  are  scattered  over  the  body  and 
especially  around  the  end.  On  the  upper  side  of  each  segment 
is  a  transversely  oblong  ovate  roughened  area,  with  the  front 
edge  slightly  convex,  and  the  hinder  slightly  arcuate.  On  the 
under  side  of  each  segment, are  similar  rough  horny  plates,  but 
arcuate  in  front,  with  the  hinder  edge  straight. 


102.  Elm  Tree 
Borer. 


THE  LINDEN   TREE  BORER. 


91 


103.  Linden  Tree 
Beetle. 


It  differs  from  the  larva  of  the  Linden  tree  borer  (Saperda 
vewtita)  in  the  body  being  shorter,  broader,  more  hairy,  with 
the  tip  of  the  abdomen  flatter  and  more  hairy.  The  protho- 
rncic  segme'nt  is  broader  and  flatter,  and  the  rough  portion 
of  the  dorsal  plates  is  larger  and  less  tranversely  ovate.  The 
structure  of  the  head  shows  that  its  generic  distinctness  from 
Saperda  is  well  founded,  as  the  head  is 
smaller  and  flatter,  the  clypeus  being  twice 
as  large,  and  the  labrum  broad  and  short, 
while  in  S.  vestita  it  is  longer  than  broad. 
The  mandibles  are  much  longer  and  slenderer, 
and  the  antennae  are  much  smaller  than  in 
S.  vestita. 

The  Linden  tree  borer  (Fig.  103)  is  a  green- 
ish snuff-yellow  beetle,  with  six  black  spots 
near  the  middle  of  the  back ;  and  it  is  about 
eight-tenths  of  an  inch  in  length,  though 
often  smaller.  The  beetles,  according  to  Dr. 
Paul  Swift,  as  quoted  by  Dr.  Harris,  were 
found  (in  Philadelphia)  upon  the  small  branches  and  leaves  on 
the  28th  day  of  May,  and  it  is  said  that  they  come  out  as  early 
as  the  first  of  the  month,  and  continue  to  make  their- way 
through  the 
back  of  the  I 

trunk  and  large 
branches  dur- 
ing the  whole 
of  the  warm 
season.  They 
immediately  fly 
into  the  top  of 
the  tree,  and 
there  feed  upon 
the  epidermis 
of  the  tender 
twigs,  and  the 
petioles  of  the  104-  Linden  Tree  Borer, 

leaves,  often  wholly  denuding  the  latter,  and  causing  the  leaves 
to  fall.  They  deposit  their  eggs,  two  or  three  in  arplace,  upon 
the  trunk  or  branches  especially  about  the  forks,  making  slight 
incisions  or  punctures  for  their  reception  with  their  strong 


THE  BORERS  OF  OUR  SHADE  TREES. 


jaws.  As  many  as  ninety  eggs  have  been  taken  from  a  single 
beetle.  The  grubs  (Fig.  104,  e ;  a,  enlarged  view  of  the  head 
seen  from  above ;  6,  the  under  view  of  the  same  :  c,  side  view, 
and  d,  two  rings  of  the  body  enlarged),  hatched  from  these 

eggs,  undermine  the  bark  to  the 
extent  of  six  or  eight  inches,  in 
sinuous  channels,  or  penetrate  the 
solid  wood  an  equal  distance.  It 
is  supposed  that  three  years  are 
required  to  mature  the  insect. 
Various  expedients  have  been 
tried  to  arrest  their  course,  but 
without  effect.  A  stream,  thrown 
into  the  tops  of  trees  from  the 
hydrant,  is  often  used  with  good 
success  to  dislodge  other  insects ; 
but  the  borer-beetles,  when  thus 
disturbed,  take  wing  and  hover 
over  the  trees  till  all  is  quiet,  and 


105.  Poplar  Tree  Borer. 


then  alight  and  go  to  work  again.  The  trunks  and  branches 
of  some  of  the  trees  have  been  washed  over  with  various  prep- 
arations without  benefit.  Boring  the  trunk  near  the  ground 
and  putting  in 
sulphur  and 
other  drugs,  and 
plugging,  have 
been  tried  with 
as  little  effect. 

The  city  of 
Philadelphia  has 
suffered  griev- 
ously from  this 
borer. 

Dr.  Swift  re- 
marks, in  1844, 
that  "the  trees 
in  Washington 
and  Indepen- 
dence Squares 

were  first  o'bserved  to  have  been  attacked  about  seven  years 
ago.     Within  two  years  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  cut  down 


THE   POPLAR  TREE   BORER. 


93 


forty-seven  European  lindens  in  the  former  square  alone,  where 
there  now  remain  only  a  few  American  lindens,  and  these 
a  good  deal  eaten."  In  New  England  this  beetle  should  be 
looked  for  during 
the  first  half  of 
June. 

The  Poplar  tree 
is  infested  by  an- 
other species  of  Sa- 
perda  (S.  calcarata). 
This  is  a  much  larger 
beetle  than  those 
above  mentioned, 
being  an  inch  or  a 
little  more  in  length. 
It  is  gray,  irregu- 


"larly    striped    with 


107.  Larva  of  the  Plain  Saperda. 

ochre,  and  the  wing-covers  end  in  a  sharp  point.  The  grub 
(Fig.  105 a;  &,  top  view  of  the  head;  c,  under  side)  is  about- 
two  inches  long  and  whitish  yellow.  It  has,  with  that  of  the 
Broad-necked  Prionus  (P.  laticollis  of  Drury,  Fig.  106,  adult 
and  pupa),  as  Harris  states,  "almost  entirely  destroyed  the 

Lombardy  poplar  in  this  vicin- 
ity" (Boston).  It  bores  in  the 
trunks,  and  the  beetle  flies  by 
night  in  August  and  Septem- 
ber. We  also  figure  the  larva 
of  another  borer  (Fig.  107  c; 
a,  top  view  of  the  head;  6, 
under  side ;  e,  dorsal  view  of 
an  abdominal  segment ;  d,  end 

of  the  body,  showing  its  peculiar  form),  the  Saperda  inornata  of 
Say,  the  beetle  of  which  is  black,  with  ash  gray  hairs,  and  with- 
out spines  on  the  wing-covers.  It  is  much  smaller  than  any  of 
the  foregoing  species,  being  nine-twentieths  of  an  inch  in  length. 
Its  habits  are  not  known.  We  also  figure  the  Locust  and  Hick- 
ory borer  (Fig.  108;  «,  larva;- 6,  pupa),  which  has  swept  off  the 
locust  tree,  from  New  England.  The  beautiful  yellow  banded 
beetles  are  very  abundant  on  the  flowers  of  the  golden  rod  in 
September. 


108.  Locust  Borer. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CERTAIN   PARASITIC    INSECTS. 

THE  subject  of  our  discourse  is  not  only  a  disagreeable  but 
too  often  a  painful  one.  Not  only  is  the  mere  mention  of  the 
creature's  name  of  which  we  are  to  speak  tabooed  and  avoided 
by  the  refined  and  polite,  but  the  creature  itself  has  become 
extinct  and  banished  from  the  society  of  the  good  and  respect- 
able. Indeed  under  such  happy  auspices  do  a  large  proportion 
of  the  civilized  world  now  live  that  their  knowledge  of  the  habits 
and  form  of  a  louse  may  be  represented  by  a  blank.  Not  so  with 
some  of  their  great-great-grandfathers  and  grandmothers,  if  his- 
tory, sacred  and  profane,  poetry,*  and  the  annals  of  literature 
testify  aright;  for  it  is  comparatively  a  recent  fact  in  history  that 
the  louse  has  awakened  to  find  himself  an  outcast  and  an  alien. 
Among  savage  nations  of  all  climes,  some  of  which  have  been 
dignified  with  the  apt,  though  high  sounding  name  of  Phthiri- 
ophagi,  and  among  the  Chinese  and  other  semi-civilized  peoples, 
these  lords  of  the  soil  still  flourish  with  a  luxuriance  and  rank- 
ness  of  growth  that  never  diminishes,  so  that  we  may  say  with- 
out exaggeration  that  certain  mental  traits  and  fleshly  appetites 

*Ha!  whare  ye  gaun,  ye  crowlin  ferliel 
Your  Impudence  protects  you  sairly: 
I  canua  say  but  ye  strunt  rarely, 

Owre  gauze  and  lace; 
Tlio'  faith,  I  fear  ye  dine  but  sparely 

On  sic  a  place. 

Ye  ugly,  creepin,  blastlc  wonner, 
Detested,  shunn'd  by  s#unt  and  sinner, 
How  dare  ye  set  your  fit  upon  her 

Sae  fine  a  lady! 

Gae  somewhere  else  and  seek  your  dinner 
Oil  some  poor  body. 

(To  a  Louse. — Burns.) 
(94) 


ANIMAL  PARASITES.  95 

induced  by  their  consumption  as  an  article  of  food  may  have 
been  created,  while  a  separate  niche  in  our  anthropological  mu- 
seums is  reserved  for  the  instruments  of  warfare,  both  offensive 
and  defensive,  used  by  their  phthiriophagous  hunters.  Then  have 
we  not  in  the  very  centres  of  civilization  the  poor  and  degraded, 
which  are  most  faithfully  attended  by  these  revolting  satellites ! 

But  bantering  aside,  there  is  no  more  engaging  subject  to  the 
naturalist  than  that  of  animal  parasites.  Consider  the  great 
proportion  of  animals  that  gain  their  livelihood  by  stealing  that 
of  others.  While  a  large  proportion  of  plants  are  more  or  less 
parasitic,  they  gain  thereby  in  interest  to  the  botanist,  and 
many  of  them  are  eagerly  sought  as  the  choicest  ornaments  of 
our  conservatories.  Not  so  with  their  zoological  confreres. 
All  that  is  repulsive  and  uncanny  is  associated  with  them,  and 
tlios*  who  study  them,  though  perhaps  among  the  keenest  intel- 
lects and  most  industrious  observers,  speak  of  them  without 
the  limits  of  their  own  circle  in  subdued  whispers  or  under  a 
protest,  and  their  works  fall  under  the  eyes  of  the  scantiest 
few.  But  the  study  of  animal  parasites  has  opened  up  new 
fields  of  research,  all  bearing  most  intimately  on  those  two 
questions  that  ever  incite  the  naturalist  to  the  most  laborious 
and  untiring  diligence  —  what  is  life  and  its  origin  ?  The  sub- 
jects of  the  alternation  of  generations,  or  parthenogenesis,  of 
embryology  and  biology,  owe  their  great  advance,  in  large 
degree,  to  the  study  of  such  animals  as  are  parasitic,  and  the 
question  whether  the  origin  of  species  be  due  to  creation  by 
the  action  of  secondary  laws  or  not,  will  be  largely  met  and 
answered  by  the  study  of  the  varied  metamorphoses  and  modes 
of  growth,  the  peculiar  modification  of  organs  that  adapt  them 
to  their  strange  modes  of  life,  and  the  consequent  variation  in 
specific  characters  so  remarkably  characteristic  of  those  ani- 
mals living  parasitically  upon  others.* 

With  these  considerations  in  view  surely  a  serious,  thought- 
ful, and  thorough  study  of  the  louse,  in  all  its  varieties  and 
species,  is  neither  belittling  nor  degrading,  nor  a  waste  of  time. 
We  venture  to  say,  moreover,  that  more  light  will  be  thrown 
on  the  classification  and  morphology  of  insecte  by  the  study  of 

*  We  notice  while  preparing  this  article  that  a  journal  of  Parasitology  has  for 
some  time  been  issued  in  Germany  — that  favored  land  of  specialists.  It  is  the 
"  Zeitschrift  fur  Parasitenkuude,"  edited  by  Dr.  E.  Hallier  and  F  A.  Zuru .  8vo, 
Jena. 


96 


CERTAIN  PARASITIC  INSECTS. 


109.  Podura. 


the  parasitic  species,  and  other  degraded,  wingless  forms  that 
do  not  always  live  parasitically,  especially  of  their  embryology 
and  changes  after  leaving  the  egg,  than  by  years  of  study  of 
the  more  highly  developed  insects  alone.  Among  Hymenoptera 
the  study  of  the  minute  Ichneumons,  such  as  the  Proctotrupids 
and  Chalcids,  especially  the  egg-parasites ; 
among  moths  the  study  of  the  wingless  can- 
ker-worm moth  and  Orgyia;  among  Diptera 
the  flea,  bee  louse,  sheep  "tick,  bat  tick,  and 
other  wingless  flies ;  among  Coleoptera,  the 
Meloe,  and  singular  Stylops  and  Xenos ; 
among  Neuroptera,  the  snow  insect,  Boreus, 
the  Podura  (Fig.  109)  and  Lepisma,  and  espe- 
cially the  hemipterous  lice,  will  throw  a  flood 
of  light  on  these  prime  subjects  in  philosoph- 
ical entomology. 

Without  farther  apology,  then,  and  very 
dependent  on  the  labors. of  others  for  our 
information,  we  will  say  a  few  words  on  some 
interesting  points  in  the  natural  history  of 
lice.  In  the  first  place,  how  does  the  louse 
bite  ?  It  is  the  general  opinion  among  physicians,  supported  by 
able  entomologists,  that  the  louse  has  jaws,  and  bites.  But 
while  the  bird  lice  (Mallophaga)  do  have  biting  jaws,  whence 
the  Germans  call  them  skin-eaters  (pelzfresser) ,  the  mouth  parts 
of  the  genus  Pediculus,  or  true  louse,  resemble  in  their  structure f 
those  of  the  bed-bug  (Fig.  110),  and  other  Hemiptera.  In  its 
form  the  louse  closely  resembles  the  bed-bug,  and  the  two  groups 
of  lice,  the  Pediculi  and  Mallophaga,  should  be 
considered  as  families  of  Hemiptera,  though 
degraded  and  at  the  base  of  the  hemipterous 
series.  The  resemblance  is  carried  out  in  the  L 
form  of  the  egg,  the  mode  of  growth  of  the  1 
embryo,  and  the  metamorphosis  of  the  insect 
after  leaving  its  egg. 

Schiodte,  a  Danish  entomologist,  has,  it 
seems  to  us,  forever  settled  the  question  as  to 
whether  the  louse  bites  the  flesh  or  sucks  blood,  and  decides 
a  point  interesting  to  physicians,  i.  c.,  that  the  loathsome  disease 
called  phthiriasis  is  a  nonentity.  From  this  source  not  only 
many  living  in  poverty  and  squalor  are  said  to  have  died,  but 


110.  Bed-bug. 


THE  LOUSE.  97 

also  men  of  renown,  among  whom  Denny  in  his  work  on  the 
Anoplura,  or  lice,  of  Great  Britain,  mentions  the  name  of  "Phe- 
retima,  as  recorded  by  Herodotus,  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  the 
Dictator  Sylla,  the  two  Herods,  the  Emperor  Maximian,  and 
Phillip  the  Second."  Schioclte,  in  his  essay  "  On  Phthinus,  and 
on  the  Structure  of  the  Mouth  in  Pediculus"  (Annals  and  Maga- 
zine of  Natural  History,  1866,  page  213),  says  that  these  state- 
ments will  not  bear  examination,  and  that  this  disease  should  be 
placed  on  the  "  retired  list,"  for  such  a  malady  is  impossible  to 
be  produced  by  simply  blood-sucking  animals,  and  that  they  are 
only  the  disgusting  attendants  on  other  diseases.  Our  author 
thus  describes  the  mouth  parts  of  the  louse. 

"Lice  are  no  doubt  to  be  regarded  as  bugs,  simplified  in 
structure  and  lowered  in  animal  life  in  accordance  with  their 
mode  of  living  as  parasites,  being  small,  flattened,  apterous, 
myopic,  crawling  and  climbing,  with  a  conical  head,  moulded 
as  it  were  to  suit  the  rugosities  of  the  surface  they  inhabit, 
provided  with  a  soft,  transversely  furrowed  skin,  probably 
endowed*  with  an  acute  sense  of  feeling,  which  can  guide  them 
in  that  twilight  in  which  their  mode  of  life  places  them.  The 
peculiar  attenuation  of  the  head  in  ffont  of  the  antenna?  at  once 
suggests  to  the  practised  eye  the  existence  of  a  mouth  adapted 
for  suction.  This  mouth  differs  from  that  of  the  Hemiptera 
(bed-bug,  etc.)  generally,  in  the  circumstance, that  the  labium  is 
capable  of  being  retracted  into  the  upper  part  of  the  head, 
which  therefore  presents  a  little  fold,  which  is  extended  when 
the  labium  is  protruded.  In  order  to  strengthen  this  part,  a  flat 
band  of  chitine  is  placed  on  the  under  surface,  just  as  the  shoe- 
maker puts  a  small  piece  of  gutta-percha  into  the  back  of  an 
India-rubber  shoo ;  as,  however,  the  chitine  is  not  very  elastic, 
this  baud  is  rather  thinner  in  the  middle,  in  order  that  it  may 
bend  and  fold  a  little  when  the  skin  is  not  extended  by  the 
lower  lip.  The  latter  consists,  as  usual,  of  two  hard  lateral 
pieces,  of  which  the  fore  ends  are  united  by  a  membrane  so  that 
they  form  a  tube,  of  which  the  interior  covering  is  a  continu- 
ation of  the  elastic  membrane  in  the  top  of  the  head ;  inside  its 
orifice  there  are  a  number  of  small  hooks,  which  assume  differ- 
ent positions  according  to  the  degree  of  protrusion ;  if  this  is 
at  its  highest  point  the  orifice  is  turned  inside  out,  like  a  collar, 
whereby  the  small  hooks  are  directed  backwards,  so  that  they 
can  serve  as  barbs.  These  are  the  movements  which  the  animal 
9 


98 


CERTAIN  PARASITIC   INSECTS. 


executes  after  having  first  inserted  the  labium  through  a  sweat- 
pore.  When  the  hooks  have  got  a  firm 
hold,  the  first  pair  of  setse  (the  real 
mandibles  transformed)  are  protruded ; 
these  are,  towards  their  points,  united 
by  a  membrane  so  as  to  form  a  closed 
tube,  from  which,  again,  is  inserted  the 
second  pair  of  setae,  or  maxilla?,  which 
in  the  same  manner  are  transformed 
into  a. tube  ending  in  four  small  lobes 
placed  crosswise.  It  follows  that  when 
the  whole  instrument  is  exserted,  we 
perceive  a  long  membranous  flexible 
tube  hanging  down  from  the  labium,  and 
along  the  walls  of  this  tube  the  setiform 
mandibles  and  maxilla  in  the  shape  of 
long  narrow  bands  of  chitine.  In  this  way 
the  tube  of  suction  can  be  made  longer 
or  shorter  as  required,  and  easily  ad- 
justed to  the  thickness  of  the  skin  in 
the  particular  place  where  the  animal  is 
sucking,  whereby  access  to  the  capil- 
lary system  is  secured  at  any  part  of 
the  body.  It  is  apparent,  from  the 
whole  structure  of  the  instrument,  that 
it  is  by  no  means  calculated  on  being 
used  as  a  sting,  but  is  rather  to  be  com- 
pared to  a  delicate  elastic  probe,  in  the 
use  of  which  the  terminal  lobes  proba- 
bly serve  as  feelers.  As  soon  as  the 
capillary  system  is  reached,  the  blood 
will  at  once  ascend  into  the  narrow 
tube,  after  which  the  current  is  contin- 
ued with  increasing  rapidity  by  means 
of  the  pulsation  of  the  pumping  ventri- 
cle and  the  powerful  peristaltic  move- 

*lll.  Mouth  of  the  Louse,    ment  of  the  digestive  tube." 
If  we   compare  the  form  of  the  louse   (Fig.  112,  Pediculus 

*  Figure  111  represents  the  parts  of  the  mouth  In  a  large  specimen  of  Pediculus 
vestimenti,  entirely  protruding,  and  seen  from  above,  magnified  one  hundred  and 
sixty  times;  aa,  the  summit  of  the  head  with  four  bristles  on  each  side;  Ib,  the 


THE   LOUSE. 


99 


capitis,  the  head  louse;  Fig.  113,  P.  vestimenti,  the  body  louse) 
with  the  young  bod-bug  as  figured  by  Westwood  (Modern. 
Classification  of  Insects,  ii,  p.  475)  we  shall  see  a  very  close 
resemblance,  the  head  of  the  young  Ciraex  being  proportionally 
larger  than  in  the  adult,  while  the  thorax  is  smaller,  and  the 
abdomen  is  more  ovate,  less  rounded;  moreover  the  body  is 
white  and  partially  transparent. 

Under  a  high  power  of  the  microscope  specimens  treated 
with  diluted  potash  show  that  the  mandibles  and 
maxillae  arise  near  each  other  in  the  middle  of  the 
head  opposite  the  eyes,  their  bases  slightly  diverg- 
ing. Thence  they  converge  to  the  mouth,  over 
which  they  meet,  and  beyond  are  free,  being  hol- 
low, thin  band^'of  chitine,  meeting  like  the  maxillae, 
or  tongue,  of  butterflies  to  form  a  hollow  tube  for 
suction.  The  mandibles  each  suddenly  end  in  a 
curved,  slender  filament,  which  is  probably  used 
as  a  tactile  organ  to  explore  the  best  sites  in  the 
flesh  of  their  victim  for  drawing  blood.  On  the 
other  hand  the  maxillae,  which  are  much  narrower 
than  the  mandibles,  become  rounded  towards  the  end,  bristle- 
like,  and  tipped  with  numerous  exceedingly  fine  barbs,  by  which 
the  bug  anchors  itself  in  the  flesh,  while  the 
blood  is  pumped  through  the  mandibles.  The 
base  of  the  large,  tubular  labium,  or  beak,  which 
ensheathes  the  mandibles  and  maxillag,  is  oppo- 
site the  end  of  the  clypeus  or  front  edge  of  the 
upper  side  of  the  head,  and  at  a  distance  beyond 
the  mouth  equal  to  the  breadth  of  the  labium 
itself.  The  labium,  which  is  divided  into  three 
joints,  becomes  flattened  towards  the  tip,  which 
is  square,  and  ends  in  two  thin  membranous 
113.  Body  Louse,  lobes,  probably  endowed  with  a  slight  sense  of 
touch.  On  comparing  these  parts  with  those  of  the  louse,  it 
will  be  seen  how  much  alike  they  are  with  the  exception  of  the 
labium,  a  very  variable  organ  in  the  Hemiptera.  From  the  long 

chitinous  band,  and  c,  the  hind  part  of  th& lower  lip,  such  as  they  appear  through 
the  skin  by  strong  transmitted  light;  dd,  the  foremost  protruding  part  of  the  lower 
lip  (the  haustellum) ;  ee,  the  hooks  turned  outwards ;  /,  the  Inner  tube  of  suction, 
slightly  bent  and  twisted;  the  two  pairs  of  jaws  are  perceived  on  the  outside  as 
thin  lines;  a  few  blood  globules  are  seen  iu  the  interior  of  the  tube. 


100 


CERTAIN  PARASITIC   INSECTS. 


sucker  of  the  Pediculus,  to  the  stout  chitinous  jaws  of  the 
Mallophaga,  or  bird  lice,  is  a  Sudden  transition,  but  on  com- 
paring the  rest  of  the  head  and 
body  it  will  be  seen  that  the  dis- 
tinction only  amounts  to  a  family 
one,  though  Burmeister  placed  the 
Mallophaga  among  the  Orthoptera 
(grasshoppers  and  crickets)  on 
account  of  the  mandibles  being 
adapted  for  biting.  It  has  been  a 
common  source  of  error  to  depend 
too  much  upon  one  or  a  single  set 
of  organs.  Insects  have  been  classi- 
fied on  characters  drawn  from  the 
wings,  or  the  number  of  the  joints 
of  the  tarsi,  or  the  form  of  the 
mouth  parts.  We  must  take  into 
account  in  endeavoring  to  ascer- 
tain the  limits  of  natural  groups, 
all  the  organs  collectively,  as  well 
as  the  internal  anatomy  and  the 
embryology  and  metamorphosis  of 
insects,  before  we  can  hope  to 
obtain  a  natural  classification. 
The  family  of  bird  lice  is  a  very  extensive  one,  embracing 
many  genera,  and  several  hun- 
dred species.  One  or  more  spe- 
cies infest  the  skin  of  all  our 
domestic  and  wild  mammals  and 
birds,  some  birds  sheltering 
beneath  their  feathers  four  or 
five  species  of  lice.  Before  giv- 
ing a  hasty  account  of  some  of 
our  more  common  species,  we 
will  give  a  sketch  of  the  embryo- 
logical  history  of  the  lice,  with 
special  reference  to  the  structure 
of  the  mouth  parts. 

The  eggs  (Fig.  114,  egg  of  the  head  louse)  are  long,  oval, 
somewhat  pear-shaped,  with  the  hinder  end  somewhat  pointed, 
while  the  anterior  end  is  flattened,  and  bears  little  conical  micro- 


114.  Embryo  of  the  "Louse. 


Moufch  partg  Qf  the  Loilse 


MOUTH   OF   THE   LOUSE. 


101 


pyles  (m,  minute  orifices  for  the  passage  of  the  spermatozoa 

into  the  egg),  which  vary  in  form  in  the  different  species  and 

genera;   the  opposite  end 

of  the  egg  is  provided  with 

a  few  bristles.     The  female 

•attaches  her   eggs  to  the 

hairs    or  feathers  of    her 

host. 
After  the  egg  has  been 

fertilized  by  the  male,  the 

blastoderm,     or    primitive 

skin,    forms,     and    subse- 
quently two  layers,  or  em- 

b  r  y  o  n  a  1    membranes,  ap-          m  Mouth  Parts  of  the  Louse> 

pear;  the  outer  is  called  the  amnion  (Fig.  Il4,  am),  while  the 
inner  visceral  membrane  (db)  partially 
wraps  the  rude  form  of  the  embryo  in 
its  folds.  The  head  (ok)  of  the  em- 
bryo is  now  directed  towards  the  end 
of  the  egg  on  which  the  hairs  are  situ- 
ated ;  afterwards  the  embryo  revolves 
on  its  axis  and  the  head  lies  next  to 
the  opposite  end  of  the  egg.  Eight 
tubercles  bud  out  from  the  under  side 
of  the  head,  of  which  the  foremost  and 

longest  are  the  antennas  (as),  those  succeeding  are  the  mandi- 
bles, maxillae,   and  second 

maxilla),  or  labium.  Behind 

them  arise  six  long,  slender 

tubercles  fornjing  the  legs, 

and   the    primitive  streak 

rudely  marks    the    lower 

wall    of    the    thorax    and 

abdomen  not  yet  formed. 

Figure  115  represents  the 

head     and     mouth     parts 

of  the  embryo  of  the  same 

louse  ;   vk  is   the  forehead, 

or  clypeus ;  ant,  the  anten- 
na);  mad,  the  mandibles; 

max1,  the  first  pair  of  maxillae,  and  max*,  the  second  pair  of 


118.  Mouth  Parts  of  Louse. 


117.  Mouth  Parts  of  Louse. 


102 


CERTAIN  PARASITIC   INSECTS. 


119.  Louse  of  Cow. 


maxillae,  or  labium.  Figure  116  represents  the  mouth  parts 
of  the  same  insect  a  little  farther  advanced,  with  the  jaws  and 
labium  elongated  and  closely  folded  together.  Figure  117  repre- 
sents the  same  still  farther  advanced;  the  mandibles  (mad)  are 
sharp,  and  resemble  the  jaws  of  the 
Mallophaga;  and  the  maxillae  (jnaxlj 
and  labium  (max2)  are  still  large,  while 
afterwards  the  labium  becomes  nearly 
obsolete.  Figure  118  represents  a  front 
view  of  the  mouth  parts  of  a  bird  louse, 
Goniodes;  Ib,  is  the  upper  lip,  or 
labrum,  lying  under  the  clypeus;  mad, 
the  mandibles;  max,  the  maxillae;  Z, 
the  lyre- formed  piece;  and  pi,  the 
"plate." 

We  will  now  describe  some  of  the 
common  species  of  lice  found  on  a  few 
of  our  domestic  animals,  and  the  mal- 
lophagous  parasites  occurring  on  cer- 
tain mammals  and  birds.  The  family 
Pediculina,  or  true  lice,  is  higher  than  the  bird  lice,  their  mouth 
parts,  as  well  as  the  structure  of  the  head,  resembling  the  true 
Hemiptera,  especially  the  bed  bug.  The  clypeus,  or  front  of  the 
head,  is  much  smaller  than  in  the  bird  lice,  the  latter  retaining 
the  enlarged  forehead  of  the  embryo,  it 
being  in  some  species  half  as  large  as 
the  rest  of  the  head. 

All  of  our  domestic  mammals  and 
birds  are  plagued  by  one  or  more  species 
of  lice.  Figure  119  represents  the  Hae- 
matopinus  vituli,  which  is  brownish  in 
color.  As  the  specimen  figured  came 
from  the  Burnett  collection  of  the  Bos- 
ton Society  of  Natural  History,  together 
with  those  of  the  goat  louse,  the  louse 
of  the  common  fowl,  and  of  the  cat, 
they  are  undoubtedly  naturalized  here.  12°-  Louse  of  Ho»- 
Quite  a  different  species  is  the  louse  of  the  hog  (H.  suis,  Fig. 
120). 

The  remaining  parasites  belong  to  the  skin-biting   lice,  or 
Mallophaga,  and  I  will  speak  of  the  several  genera  referred  to 


LICE   OF   DOMESTIC    ANIMALS. 


103 


in  their  natural  order,  beginning  with  the  highest  form  and 
that  which  is  nearest  allied  to  Pediculus. 

The  common  barn-yard  fowl  is  infested  by  a  louse  that  we 
have  called  Goniocotcs  Burnettii  (Fig.  121),  in  honor  of  the  late 
Dr.  W.  I.  Burnett,  a  young  and 
talented  naturalist  and  physiolo- 
gist, who  paid  more  attention  than 
any  one  else  in  this  country  to  the 
study  of  these  parasites,  and  made 
a  large  collection  of  them,  now  in 
the  museum  of  the  Boston  Society 
of  Natural  History.  It  differs  from 
the  G.  hologaster  of  Europe,  which 
lives  on  the  same  bird,  in  the  short 
second  joint  of  the  antenna,  which 
are  also  stouter;  and  in  the  long 
head,  the  clypeus  being  much 
longer  and  more  acutely  rounded ; 
while  the  head  is  less  hollowed  out  121.  Louse  of  Domestic  Fowl, 
at  the  insertion  of  the  antennae.  The  abdomen  is  oval,  and 
one-half  as  wide  as  long,  with  transverse,  broad,  irregular  bands 
along  the  edges  of  the  segments.  The  mandibles  are  short  and 
straight,  two  toothed.  The  body  is  slightly  yellowish,  and 
variously  streaked  and  banded  with  pitchy  black.  The  duck  is 
infested  by  a  remarkably  slender  form  (Fig.  122,  Phil- 
opterus  squalidus).  Figure  123  represents  the  louse 
of  the  cat,  and  another  species  (Fig.  124)  of  the  same 
genus  (Trichodes)  lives  upon  the  goat. 

The  most  degraded  genus  is  Gyropus.  Mr.  C.  Cook 
has  found  Gyropus  ovalis  of  Europe  abundant  on 
the  Guinea  pig.  A  species  is  also  found  on  the  por- 
poise ;  an  interesting  fact,  as  this  is  the  only  insect 
we  know  of  that  lives  parasitically  on  any  marine 
animal. 

The  genus  Goniodes  (Fig.  125,  G.  stylifer,  the  tur- 
122.  Duck  ]jey  louse)  is  of  great  interest  from  a  morphological 
Louse-  and  developmental  point  of  view,  as  the  antenna?  are 
described  and  figured  by  Denny  as  being  "  in  the  males  cheli- 
form  (Fig.  126,  a,  male ;  b,  female)  ;  the  first  joint  being  very 
large  and  thick,  the  third  considerably  smaller,  recurved  towards 
the  first,  and  forming  a  claw,  the  fourth  and  fifth  very  small, 


104 


CERTAIN    PARASITIC  INSECTS. 


123.  Louse  of  the  Cat. 


arising  from  the  back  of  the  third."  He  farther  remarks,  that 
"the  males  of  this  [which  lives  on  the  turkey]  and  all  the  other 
species  of  Goniodes,  use  the  first  and  third  joints  of  the  anten- 
na3  with  great  facility,  acting  the  part  of  a  finger  and  thumb." 
The  antennae  of  the  females  are  of  the 
ordinary  form.  This  hand-like  structure, 
is,  so  far  as  we  know,  without  a  parallel 
among  insects,  the  antennae  of  the  He- 
miptera  being  almost  uniformly  filiform, 
a'nd  from  two  to  nine-jointed.  The 
design  of  this  structure  is  probably  to 
enable  the  male  to  grasp  its  consort  and 
also  perhaps  to  cling  to  the  feathers,  and 
thus  give  it  a  superiority  over  the  weaker 
sex  in  its  advances  towards  courtship. 
Why  is  this  advantage  possessed-  by  the 
males  of  this  genus  alone?  The  world 
of  insects,  and  of  animals  generally 
abounds  in  such  instances,  though  exist- 
ing in  other  organs,  and  the  develop- 
mentist  dimly  perceives  in  such  departures  from  a  normal  type 
of  structure,  the  origin  of  new  generic  forms,  whether  due  at 
first  to  a  seemingly  accidental  variation, 
or,  as  in  this  instance,  perhaps,  to  long 
use  as  prehensile  organs  through  suc- 
cessive generations  of  lice  having  the 
antennae  slightly  diverging  from  the 
typical  condition,  until  the  present 
form  has  been  developed.  Another 
generation  of  naturalists  will  perhaps 
unanimously  agree  that  the  Creator  has 
thus  worked  through  secondary  laws, 
which  many  of  the  naturalists  of  the 
present  day  are  endeavoring,  in  a  truly 
scientific  and  honest  spirit  of  inquiry, 
to  discover. 

In  their  claw  or  leg-like  form  these      ,124'  Louse  of  the  Goat' 
male  antenna  also  repeat  in  the  head,  the  general  form  of  the 
legs,  whose  prehensile   and  grasping  functions   they  assume. 
We  have  seen  above  that  the  appendages  of  the  head  and  tho- 
rax are  alike  in  the  embryo,  and  the  present  case  is  an  interest- 


FACTS   FOR   THE   THEORY   OF   EVOLUTION. 


105 


irg  example  of  the  unity  of  type  of  the  jointed  appendages  of 
insects,  and  articulates  generally. 

Another  point  of  interest  in  these  degraded  insects  is,  that 
the  process  of  degradation  begins  either  late  in  the  life  of  the 
embryo  or  during  the  changes  from  the  larval  to  the  adult,  or 
winged  state;  An  instance  of  the  latter  may  be  observed  in  the 
wingless  female  of  the  canker  worm,  so  different  from  the  winged 
male;  this  difference  is  created  after  the  larval  stage,  for  the 

caterpillars  of 

both    sexes    are 

the  same,  so  far 

as  we  know.    So 

with  numerous 

other     examples 

am  on g        the 

moths.     In  the 

louse,    the  em- 
bryo, late   in  its 

life,  .    resembles 

the   embryos  of 

other  insects, 

even    Corixa,    a 

member  of  a  not     12G-  Antenna?  of 
Goniodes. 


125.  The  Turkey  Louse. 


remotely  allied  family.  But  just  before  hatch- 
ing the  insect  assumes  its  degraded  louse  physiognomy.  The 
developmeutist  would  say  that  this  process  of  degradation 
points  to  causes  acting  upon  the  insect  just  before  or  immedi- 
ately after  birth,  inducing  the  retrogression  and  retardation  of' 
development,  and  would  consider  it  as  an  argument  for  the 
evolution  of  specific  forms  by  causes  acting  on  the  animal  while 
battling  with  its  fellows  in  the  struggle  for  existence,  and  per- 
haps consider  that  the  metamorphoses  of  the  animal  within  the 
egg  are  due  to  a  reflex  action  of  the  modes  of  life  of  the  ances- 
tors of  the  animal  on  the  embryos  of"  its  descendants. 


CHAPTEE     X. 

THE  DRAGON  FLY. 

WERE  we  to  select  from  among  the  insects  a  type  of  all  that 
is  savage,  relentless,  and  bloodthirsty,  the  Dragon  fly  would  be 
our  choice.  From  the  moment  of  its  birth  until  its  death,  usu- 
ally a  twelve-month,  it  riots  in  bloodshed  and  carnage.  Living 
beneath  the  waters  perhaps  eleven  months  of  its  life,  in  the 
larva  and  pupa  states,  it  is  literally  a  walking  pitfall  for  luckless 
aquatic  insects ;  but  when  transformed  into  a  fly,  ever  on  the 
wing  in  pursuit  of  its  prey,  it  throws  off  all  concealment,  and 
reveals  the  more  unblushingly  its  rapacious  character. 

Not  only  do  its  horrid  visage  and  ferocious  bearing  frighten 
children,  who  call  it  the  "  Devil's  Darning-needle,"  but  it  even 
distresses  older  persons,  so  that  its  name  has  become  a  byword. 
Could  we  understand  the  language  of  insects,  what  tales  of  hor- 
ror would  be  revealed!  What  traditions,  sagas,  fables,  and 
myths  must  adorn  the  annals  of  animal  life  regarding  this 
JDragon  among  insects ! 

To  man,  however,  aside  from  its  bad  name  and  its  repulsive 
aspect,  which  its  gay  trappings  do  not  conceal,  its  whole  life  is 
beneficent.  It  is  a  scavenger,  being  like  that  class  ugly  and 
repulsive,  and  holding  literally,  among  insects,  the  lowest  rank 
in  society.  In  the  water,  it  preys  upon  young  mosquitoes  and 
the  larvae  of  other  noxious  insects.  It  thus  aids  in  maintaining 
the  balance  of  life,  and  cleanses  the  swamps  of  miasmata,  thus 
purifying  the  air  we  breathe.  During  its  existence  of  three  or 
four  weeks  above  the  waters,  its  whole  life  is  a  continued  good 
toman.  It  hawks  over  pools  and  fields,  and  through  gardens, 
decimating  swarms  of  mosquitoes,  flies,  gnats,  and  other  baneful 
insects.  It  is  a  true  JMalthus'  delight,  and,  following  that  san- 
guinary philosopher,  we  may  believe  that  our  Dragon  fly  is  an 
(106) 


THE  DRAGON  FLY.  107 

entomological  Tamerlane  or  Napoleon  sent  into  the  world  by  a 
kind  Providence  to  prevent  too  close  a  jostling  among  the  myri- 
ads of  insect  life. 

We  will,  then,  conquer  our  repugnance  to  its  ugly  looks  and 
savage  mien,  and  contemplate  the  hideous  monstrosity, —  as  it 
is  useless  to  deny  that  it  combines  the  graces  of  the  Hunchback 
of  Notre  Dame  and  Dickens'  Quilp,  with  certain  features  of  its 
own, —  for  the  good  it  does  in  Nature. 

Even  among  insects,  a  class  replete  with  forms  the  very  incar- 
nation of  ugliness  and  the  perfection  of  all  that  is  hideous  in 
nature,  our  Dragon  fly  is  most  conspicuous.  Look  at  its  enor- 
mous head,  with  its  beetling  brows,  retreating  face,  and  heavy 
under  jaws, — all  eyes  and  teeth, —  and  hung  so  loosely  on  its 
short,  weak  neck,  sunk  beneath  its  enormous  hunchback, —  for 
it  is  wofully  round-shouldered,  —  while  its  long,  thin  legs, 
shrunken  as  if  from  disease,  are  drawn  up  beneath  its  breast, 
and  what  a  hobgoblin  it  is  ! 

Its  gleaming  wings  are,  however,  beautiful  objects.  They 
form  a  broad  expanse  of  delicate  parchment-like  membrane 
drawn  over  an  intricate  network  of  veins.  Though  the  body  is 
bulky,  it  is  yet  light,  and  easily  sustained  by  the  wings.  The 
long  tail  undoubtedly  acts  as  a  rudder  to  steady  its  flight. 

These  insects  are  almost  universally  dressed  in  the  gayest 
colors.  The  body  is  variously  banded  with  rich  shades  of  blue, 
green,  and  yellow,  and  the  wings  give  off  the  most  beautiful 
iridescent  and  metallic  reflections. 

During  July  and  August  the  various  species  of  Libellula  and 
its  allies  most  abound.  The  ^ggs  are  attached  loosely  in  bunches 
to  the  stems  of  rushes  and  other  water-plants.  In  laying  them, 
the  Dragon  fly,  according  to  Mr.  P.  R.  Uhler's  observations, 
"  alights  upon  water-plants,  and,  pushing  the  end  of  her  body 
below  the  surface  of  the  water,  glues  a  bunch  of  eggs  to  the 
submerged  stem  or  leaf.  Libellula  auripennis  I  have  often 
seen  laying  eggs,  and  I  think  I  was  not  deceived  in  my  obscr- 
tion  that  she  dropped  a  bunch  of  eggs  into  the  open  ditch  while 
balancing  herself  just  a  little  way  above  the  surface  of  the 
water.  I  have,  also,  seen  her  settled  upon  the  reeds  in  brackish 
water  with  her  abdomen  submerged  in  part,'  and  there  attaching 
a  cluster  of  eggs.  I  feel  pretty  sure  that  L.  auripennis  does 
not  always  deposit  the  whole  of  her  eggs  at  one  time,  as  I  have 
seen  her  attach  a  cluster  of  not  more  than  a  dozen  small  yellow 


103 


THE   DRAGON   FLY. 


eggs.  There  must  be  more  than  one  hundred  eggs  in  one  of 
the  large  bunches.  The  eggs  of  some  of  the  Agrions  are  bright 
apple -green,  but  I  cannot  be  sure  that  I  have  ever  seen  them  in 
the  very  act  of  oviposition.  They  have  curious  habits  of  set- 
tling upon  leaves  and  grass  growing  in  the  water,  and  often 
allow  their  abdomens  to  fall  below  the  surface  of  the  water ; 
sometimes  they  fly  against  the  surface,  but  I  never  saw  what  I 

could  assert  to  be  the  project- 
ing of  the  eggs  from  'the  body 
upon  plants  or  into  the  water. 
The  English  entomologists 
assert  that  the  female  Agriou 
goes  below  the  surface  to  a 
depth  of  several  inches  to 
deposit  eggs  upon  the  sub- 
merged stems  of  plants."  The 
Agrions,  however,  according 
to  Lucaze  Duthiers,  a  French 
anatomist,  make,  with  the  ovi- 
positor, a  little  notch  in  the 
plant  upon  which  they  lay  their 
eggs. 

These  eggs  soon  hatch,  pro- 
bably during  the  heat  of  sum- 
mer. The  larva  is  very  active 
in  its  habits,  being  provided 
with  six  legs,  attached  to  the 
thorax,  on  the  back  of  which 
are  the  little  wing-pads,  or 
rudimentary  wings.  The  large 


127.  Under  side  of  head  of  Diplax, 
with  the  labuim  or  mask  fully  ex- 
tended, x,  x',  x",  the  three  subdi- 
visions of  the  labium.  y,  the  max- 
illae or  second  pair  of  jaws. 


head  is  provided  with  enor- 
mous eyes,  while  a  pair  of  sim- 
ple, minute  eyelets  (ocelli)  are 
placed  near  the  origin  of  the  small  bristle-like  feelers,  or  anten- 
nae. Seen  from  beneath,  instead  of  the  formidable  array  of 
jaws  and  accessory  organs  commonly  observed  in  most  carniv- 
orous larva?,  we  see  nothing  but  a  broad,  smooth  mask  covering 
the  lower  part  of  the  face ;  as  if  from  sheer  modesty  our  young 
Dragon  fly  was  endeavoring  to  conceal  a  gape.  But  wait  a 
-moment.  Some  unwary  insect  comes  within  striking  distance. 
The  battery  of  jaws  is  unmasjved,  and  opens  upon  the  victim. 


THE   DRAGON   FLY'S   MASK. 


109 


This  mask  (Fig.  127)  is  peculiar  to  the  young,  or  larva  and  pupa 
of  the  Dragon  fly.  It  is  the  labium,  or  under  lip  greatly 
enlarged,  and  armed  at  the  broad  spoon-shaped  extremity  (Fig. 
127,  x}  with  two  sharp  hooks,  adapted  for  seizing  and  retaining 
its  prey.  At  rest,'  the  terminal  half  is  so  bent  up  as  to  conceal 
the  face,  and  thus  the  crea- 
ture crawls  about,  to  all 
appearance,  the  most  inno- 
cent and  lamb-like  of  in- 
sects. 

Not  only  does  the  imma- 
ture Dragon  fly  walk  over 
the  bottom  of  the  pool  or 


128.  Abdominal  valves ;  a,  side  view. 


stream  it  inhabits,  but  it 
can  also  leap  for  a  consid- 
erable distance,  and  by  a  most  curious  contrivance.  By  a 
syringe-like  apparatus  lodged  in  the  end  of  the  body,  it  dis- 
charges a  stream  of  water  for  a  distance  of  two  or  three  inches 
behind  it,  thus  propelling  the  insect  forwards.  This  apparatus 
b  combines  the  functions  of 

locomotion    and    respiration. 
There  are,  as  usual,  two  breath- 
ing pores  (stigmata)  on  each 
side  of  the  thorax.      But  the 
process  of  breathing  seems  to 
be  mostly  carried  on  in  the  tail. 
The  tracheae  are  here  collected 
in  a  large  mass,  sending  their 
branches   into   folds  of  mem- 
brane lining  the  end  of  the  ali- 
mentary canal,  and  which  act 
like  a  piston  to  force  out  the 
water.     The   entrance   to   the 
canal  is  protected  by  three  to 
fi  v  e   triangular  horny  valves 
(Fig.    128,9, 10,-  128  a,  side 
129.  Agrion;  6,  False  Gill  of  Larva,    view),  which  open  and  shut  at 
will.     When  open,  the  water  flows  in,  bathing  the  internal  gill- 
like  organs,  which  extract  the  air  from  the  water,  which  is  then 
suddenly  expelled  by  a  strong  muscular  effort. 
In  the  smaller  forms,  such  as  Agrion  (A.  saucium,  Fig.  129  -, 
10 


110 


THE   DRAGON  FLY. 


Fig.  129  6,  side  view  of  false  gill,  showing  but  one  leaf),  the 
respiratory  leaves,  called  the  tracheary,  or  false-gills,  are  not 
enclosed  within  the  body,  but  form  three  broad  leaves,  perme- 
ated by  tracheae,  or  air-vessels.  They  are  not  true  gilis,  how- 
ever, as  the  blood  is  not  aerated  in  them.  They  only  absorb 
air  to  supply  the  tracheae,  which  aerate 
the  blood  only  within  the  general  cavity 
of  the  body.  These  false  gills  also  act  as 
a  rudder  to  aid  the  insect  in  swimming. 
It  is  interesting  to  watch  the  Dragon 
flies  through  their  transformations,  as 
they  can  easily  be  kept  in  aquaria.  Lit- 
tle, almost  nothing,  is  known  regarding 
their  habits,  and  any  one  who  can  spend 
the  necessary  time  and  patience  in  rear- 
ing them,  so  as  to  trace  up  the  different 

stages  from  the  larva  to  the  adult  fly,  and     13°-  Pupa  of  Cordulia. 
describe  and  figure  them  accurately,  will  do  good  service  to 
science. 

Mr.  Uhler  states  that  at  present  we  know  but  little  of  the 
young  stages  of  our  species,  but  the  larva  and  pupa  of  the  Libel- 

lulas  may  be  al- 
ways known  from 
the  .ZEschnas  by 
the  shorter, 
deeper  and  more 
robust  form,  and 
generally  by  their 
thick  clothing  of 
hair.  Figure  130 
represents  the 
pupa  of  Cordulia 
lateralis,  and  fig- 
ure 131  that  of  a 
Dragon  fly  re- 
ferred doubtfully 
131.  PupaofDidymops?  to  the  genu.s 

Didymops.  For  descriptions  and  figures  of  other  forms  the 
reader  may  turn  to  Mr.  Louis  Cabot's  essay  "  On  the  Immature 
State  of  the  Odonata,"  published  by  the  Museum  of  Compara- 
tive Zoology  at  Cambridge. 


METAMORPHOSIS    OF   THE   DRAGON    FLY. 


Ill 


The  pupa  scarcely  differs  from  the  larva,  except  in  having 
larger  wing-pads  (Fig.  132).  It  is  still  active,  and  as  much  of 
a  gourmand  as  ever.  When  the  insect  is  about  to  assume  the 
pupa  state,  it  moults  its  skin.  The  body  having  outgrown  the 
larva  skin,  by  a  strong  muscular  effort  a  rent  opens  along  the  back 
of  the  thorax,  and  the  insect  having  fas- 
tened its  claws  into  some  object  at  the 
bottom  of  the  pool,  the  pupa  gradually 
works  its  way  out  of  the  larva-skin.'  It 
is  now  considerably  larger  than  before. 
Immediately  after  this  tedious  operation, 
its  body  is  soft,  but  the  crust  soon  hard- 
ens. This  change,  with  most  species, 
probably  occurs  early  in  summer. 

When  about  to  change  into  the  adult 
fly,  the  pupa  climbs  up  some  plant  near 
the  surface  of  the  water.    Again  its  back 
yawns  wide  open,  and  from  the  rent  our 
Dragon  fly  slowly  emerges.    For  an  hour 
or  more,  it  remains  torpid  and  listless, 
with   its   flabby,    soft  wings   remaining 
motionless.     The   fluids   leave   the   sur- 
face, the  crust  hardens  and   dries,  rich     m  Pupa  of  ^8Chna. 
and  varied  tints  appear,  and  our  Dragon  fly  rises  into  its  new 
world  of  light  and  sunshine  a  gorgeous,  but  repulsive   being. 
Tennyson  thus  describes  these  changes  in  "The  Two  Voices"  : — 

To-day  I  saw  the  Dragon  fly 

Come  from  the  wells  where  he  did  lie. 

An  inner  impulse  rent  the  veil 

Of  his  old  husk :  from  head  to  tail 

Came  out  clear  plates  of  sapphire  mail. 

He  dried  his  wings;  like  gauze  they  grew; 
Through  crofts  and  pastures  wet  with  dew 
A  living  flash  of  light  he  flew. 

Of  our  more  common,  typical  forms  of  Dragon  flies,  we  figure 
a  few,  commonly  observed  during  the  summer.  The  three- 
spotted  Dragon  fly  (Libellula  trimaculata),  of  which  figure  133 
represents  the  male,  is  so  called  from  the  three  dark  clouds  on 
the  wings  of  the  female.  But  the  opposite  sex  differs  in  having 
a  dark  patch  at  the  front  edge  of  the  wings,  and  a  single  broad 
cloud  just  beyond  the  middle  of  the  wing. 

Libellula  'quadrimaculata,  the  four-spotted  Dragon  fly  (Fig. 


112 


THE  DRAGON   FLY. 


134),  is   seen  on  the  wing  in  June,  flying  through  dry  pine 
woods  far  from  any  standing  water. 
The.  largest  of  our  Dragon  flies  are  the  "Devil's  Darning- 


133,  Libellnla  trimaculata,  male. 

needles,"  Eschna  heros  and  grandis,  seen  hawking  about  our 
gardens  till  dusk.     They  frequently  enter  houses,  carrying  dis- 


134.  Libellula  quadrimacnlata. 

may  and  terror  among  the  children.  The  hind-body  is  long  and 
cylindrical,  and  gaily  colored  with  bright  green  and  bluish  bands 
and  spots. 


THE   DRAGON 


113 


135.  Diplax  Berenice,  male. 


One  of  our  most  common  Dragon  flies  is  the  ruby  Dragon  fly, 
Diplax  rubicund ula,  which  is  yellowish-red.  It  is  seen  every- 
where flying  over  pools,  and  also  frequents  dry  sunny  woods  and 
glades.  Another  common 
form  is  Diplax  Berenice 
(Fig.  135  male,  Fig.  13G 
female.  The  accompany- 
ing cut  (137)  represents 
the  larva,  probably  of  this 
species,  according  to  Mr. 
Uhlcr.)  It  is  black,  the 
head  blue  in  front,  spotted 
with  yellow,  while  the 
thorax  and  abdomen  are 
striped  with  yellow. 
There  are  fewer  stripes  on  the  body  of  the  male,  which  has  only 
four  large  yellow  spots  on  each  side  of  the  abdomen. 
Still  another  pretty  species  is  Diplax  Elisa  (Fig.  138). 
It  is  black,  with  the  head  yellowish  and  with  greenish- 
yellow  spots  on  the  sides  of  the  thorax  and  base  of  the 
abdomen.  There  are  three  dusky  spots  on  the  front 
edge  of  each  wing,  and  a  large  cloud  at  the  base  of  the 
hind  pair  towards  the  hind  angles  of  the  wing. 
137.  Larva  Rather  a  rare  form,  and  of  much  smaller  stature  is 
of  Diplax.  tlie  Nannophya  bella  (Fig.  138,  female).  It  was  first 
detected  in  Baltimore,  and  we  afterwards  found  it  not  unfre- 
quently  by  a  pond  in 
Maine.  Its  abdomen  is 
unusually  short,  and  the 
reticulations  of  the 
wings  are  large  and  sim- 
ple. The  female  is  black, 
while  the  male  is  frosted 
over  with  a  whitish  pow- 
der. Many  more  species 
of  this  family  are  found 
in  this  country,  and  for 
descriptions  of  them  we 


136.  Diplax  Berenice,  female. 


would  refer  the  reader  to  Dr.  Hagen's  "  Synopsis  of  the  Neurop- 
tera  of  North  America,"  published  by  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution. 


114 


THE  DRAGON   FLY. 


The  Libellulidse,  or  family  of  Dragon  flies,  and  the  Ephtfmer- 
idae,  or  May  flies  (Fig.  140),  are  the  most  characteristic  of  the 
Neuroptera,  or  veiny-winged  insects.  This  group  is  a  most 

interesting  one  to  the 
systematist,  as  it  is 
composed  of  so  many 
heterogeneous  forms 
which  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  classify 
in  our  rigid  and  at 
present  necessarily 
artificial  systems. 
"We  divide  them  into 

families  and  sub-fam- 
138.  Diplax  Elisa. 

ilies,  genera  and  sub- 
genera,  species  and  varieties,  but  there  is  an  endless  shifting 
of  characters  in  these  groups.  The  different  groups  would  seem 
well  limited  after  studying  certain 
forms,  when  to  the  systematist's  sor- 
row, here  comes  a  creature,  perhaps 
mimicking  an  ant,  or  aphis,  or  other 
sort  of  bug,  or  even  a  butterfly,  and 
for  which  they  would  be  readily  mis- 
taken by  the  uninitiated.  Bibliogra- 
phers have  gone  mad  over  books  that  139.  Nannophya  bella. 
could  not  be  classified.  Imagine  the  despair  of  an  insect-hunter 
and  entomophile,  as  he  sits  down  to 
his  box  of  dried  ueuroptera.  He  seeks 
for  a  true  neuropter  in  the  white  ant 
before  him,  but  its  very  form  and 
habits  summon  up  a  swarm  of  true 
ants ;  and  then  the  little  wingless  book 
louse  (Atropos,  Fig.  141)  scampering 
irreverently  over  the  musty  pages  of 
his  Systema  Naturae,  reminds  him 
of  that  closest  friend  of  man— Pedic- 
ulus  vestimenti.  Again,  his  studies 
lead  him  to  that  gorgeous  inhabitant 
of  the  South,  the  butterfly-like  Ascalaphus,  with  its  resplendent 
wings,  and  slender,  knobbed  antennae  so  much  like  those  of 
butterflies,  and  visions  of  these  beautiful  insects  fill  his  mind's 


140.  May  Fly. 


SYSTEMS  FOUNDED  IN  NATURE. 


115 


eye ;  or  sundry  dun-colored  caddis  flies,  modest,  delicate  neu- 
roptera,  with  finely  fringed  wings  and  slender  feelers,  create 
doubts  as  to  whether  they  are  not  really  allies  of  the  clothes 
moth,  so  close  is  the 
resemblance. 

Thus  the  student  is 
constantly  led  astray  by 
the  wanton  freaks  Nature 
plays,  and  becomes  seep-  K 
tical  as  regards  the  truth 
of  a  natural  system, 
though  there  is  one  to 
be  discovered;  and  at 
last  disgusted  with  the 
stiff  and  arbitrary  sys- 
tems of  our  books, —  a 
disgust  we  confess  most 
wholesome,  if  it  only 
leads  him  into  a  closer 
communion  with  nature. 
The  sooner  one  leaves 
those  maternal  apron-  14L  Death  Tick< 

strings,— books,— and  learns  to  identify  himself  with  nature, 
and  thus  goes  out  of  himself  to  affiliate  with  the  spirit  of  the 
scene  or  object  before  him,  —  or,  in  other  words,  cultivates 
habits  of  the  closest  observation  and  most  patient  reflection, — 
be  he  painter  or  poet,  philosopher  or  insect-hunter  of  low 
degree,  he  will  gain  an  intellectual  strength  and  power  of  inter- 
preting nature,  that  is  the  gift  of  true  genius. 


The  Ant  Lion  and  adult. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

MITES    AND    TICKS. 

BUT  few  naturalists  have  busied  themselves  with  the  study  of 
mites.  The  honored  names  of  Hermann,  Von  Heydcn,  Duges, 
Dujardin  and  Pagenstecher,  Nicolet,  Koch  and  Kobin,  and  the 
lamented  Claparede  of  Geneva,  lead  the  small  number  who  haVe 
published  papers  in  scientific  journals.  After  these,  and  except 
an  occasional  note  by  an  amateur  microscopist  who  occasionally 
pauses  from  his  "diatomaniacal"  studies,  and  looks  upon  a  mite 
simply  as  a  "microscopic  object,"  to  be  classed  in  his  micro- 
graphic  Vade  Mecum  with  mounted  specimens  of  sheep's  wool, 
and  the  hairs  of  other  quadrupeds,  a  distorted  proboscis  of  a 
fly,  and  podura  scales,  we  read  but  little  of  mites  and  their 
habits.  But  few  readers  of  our  natural  history  text-books  learn 
from  their  pages  any  definite  facts  regarding  the  affinities  of 
these  humble  creatures,  their  organization  and  the  singular 
metamorphosis  a  few  have  been  known  to  pass  through.  We 
shall  only  attempt  in  the  present  article  to  indicate  a  few  of  the 
typical  forms  of  mites,  and  sketch,  with  too  slight  a  knowledge 
to  speak  with  much  authority,  an  imperfect  picture  of  their 
appearance  and  modes  of  living. 

Mites  are  lowly  organized  Arachnids.  This  order  of  insects 
is  divided  into  the  Spiders,  the  Scorpions,  the  Harvestmen 
and  the  Mites  (Acarina).  They  have  a  rounded  oval  body, 
without  the  usual  division  between  the  head-thorax  and  abdo- 
men observable  in  spiders,  the  head-thorax  and  abdomen  being 
merged  in  a  single  mass.  There  are  four  pairs  of  legs,  and  the 
mouth  parts  consist,  as  seen  in  the  adjoining  figure  of  a  young 
tick  (Fig.  142,  young  Ixodes  albipictus),  of  a  pair  of  maxilla3 
(c),  which  in  the  adult  terminates  in  a  two  or  three-jointed 
palpus,  or  feeler;  a  pair  of  mandibles  (ft),  often  covered  with 
several  rows  of  fine  teeth,  and  ending  in  three  or  four  larger 
(116) 


PEAR    MITE. 


117 


hooks  and  a  serrated  labium  (a).  These  parts  form  a  beak 
which  the  mite  or  tick  insinuates  into  the  flesh  of  its  host,  upon 
the  blood  of  which  it  subsists.  While  many  of  the  mites  are 
parasitic  on  animals,  some  are  known  to  devour  the  eggs  of 
insects  and  other  mites,  thrusting  their  beaks  into  the  egg,  and 
sucking  the  contents.  We  have  seen  a  mite  (Nothrus  oviv- 
orus,  Fig.  143)  busily  engaged  in  destroying  the  eggs  of  a  moth 
like  that  of  the  Canker  worm,  and  Dr.  Shinier  has  observed  the 
Acarus?  malus  sucking  the  eggs  of  the  Chinch  bug.  I  have 
also  observed  another  mite 
devouring  the  Aphides  on 
the  rose  leaves  in  my  gar- 
den, so  that  a  few  mites 
may  be  set  down  as  bene- 
ficial to  vegetation.  While 
a  few  species  aro  injurious 
to  man,  the  larger  part  are 
beneficial,  being  either  par- 
asitic and  baneful  to  other 
noxious  animals,  or  more 
directly  useful  as  scaven- 
gers, removing  decaying 
animal  and  vegetable  sub- 
stances. 

The  transformations  of 
the  mites  are  interesting  to  the  philosophic  zoologist,  since  the 
young  of  certain  forms  are  remarkably  different  from  the  adults, 
and  in  reaching  the  perfect  state  the  mite  passes  through  a 
metamorphosis  more  striking  than  that  of  many  insects.  The 
young  on  leaving  the  egg  have  six  legs,  as  we  have  seen  in  the 
case  of  the  Ixodes.  Sometimes,  however,  as,  for  example,  in 
the  larva,  as  we  may  call  it,  of  a  European  mite,  Typhlodromus 
pyri,  the  adult  of  which,  according  to  A.  Scheuten,  is  allied  to 
Acarus,  and  lives  under  the  epidermis  of  the  leaves  of  the  pear 
in  Europe  (while  Mr.  T.  Taylor,  of  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture at  Washington,  has  found  a  species  in  the  pear  leaves  about 
Washington,  and  still  another  form  in  peach  leaves),  there  are 
but  two  pairs  of  legs  present,  and  the  body  is  long,  cylindrical 


142.  Ixodes  albipictus  and  young.* 


<•  The  figure  at  the  bottom  on -the  left  represents  the  adult,  fully-gorged  tick. 


118  MITES   AND   TICKS. 

I  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  observe  the  different  stages 
of  a  bird  mite,  intermediate  in  its  form  between  the  Acarus  and 
Sarcoptes,  or  Itch  mite.  On  March  6th,  Mr.  C.  Cooke  called  my 
attention  to  certain  little  mites  which  were  situated  on  the  nar- 
row groove  between  the  main  stem  of  the  barb  and  the  outer 
edge  of  the  barbules  of  the  feathers  of  the  Downy  Wood- 
pecker, and  subsequently  we  found  the  other  forms  in  the  down 
under  the  feathers.  These  long  worm-like  mites  were  evidently 
the  young  of  a  singular  Sarcoptes-like  mite,  as  they  were  found 
on  the  same  specimen  of  Woodpecker  at  about  the  same  date, 
and  it  is  known  that  the  growth  of  mites  is  rapid,  the  metamor- 
phoses, judging  by  the  information  which  we  now  possess,  occu- 
pying usually  but  a  few  days. 

The  young  (though  there  is,  probably,  a  still  earlier  hexapo- 
dous  stage). of  this  Sarcoptid  has  an  elongated,  oblong,  flattened 
body,  with' four  short  legs,  provided  with 
a  few  bristle-like  hairs,  and  ending  in  a 
stalked  sucker,  by  aid  of  which  the  mite 
is  enabled  to  walk  over  smooth,  hard 
surfaces.  The  body  is  square  at  the 
end,  with  a  slight  median  indentation, 
and  four  long  bristles  of  equal  length. 
They  remained  motionless  in  the  groove 
on  the  barb  of  the  feather,  and  when 
removed  seemed  very  inert  and  sluggish. 
143.  Egg-eating  Mite.  A  sucoeeding  stage  of  tnis  mlte,  which 

may  be  called  the  pupal,  is  considerably  smaller  than  the  larva 
and  looks  somewhat  like  the  adult,  the  body  having  become 
shorter  and  broader.  The  adult  is  a  most  singular  form,  its 
body  being  rudely  ovate,  with  the  head  sunken  between  the 
fore  legs,  which  are  considerably  smaller  than  the  second  pair, 
while  the  third  pair  are  twice  as  large  as  the  second  pair,  and 
directed  backwards,  and  the  fourth  pair  are  very  small,  not 
reaching  the  extremity  of  the  body,  which  is  deeply  cleft  and 
supports  four  long  bristles  on  each  side  of  the  cleft,  while  other 
bristles  are  attached  to  the  legs  and  body,  giving  the  creature, 
originally  ill-shapen,  a  haggard,  unkempt  appearance.  The  two 
stigmata  or  breathing  pores  open  near  the  cleft  in  the  end  of 
the  body,  and  the  external  opening  of  the  oviduct  is  situated 
between  the  largest  and  third  pair  of  legs.  No  males  were 
observed.  In  a  species  of  Acarus  (Tyroglyphus),'  somewhat 


CABBAGE   SEED    MITE. 


119 


like  the  Cheese  mite,  which  we  have  alive  at  the  time  of  writing, 
in  a  box  containing  the  remains  of  a  Lucanus  larva,  which  they 
seem  to  have  consumed,  as  both  young  and  old  are  swarming 
there  by  myriads,  the  young  are  oval  and  like  the  adults,  except 
that  they  are  six-legged,  the  fourth  pair  growing  out  after  a 
succeeding  moult. 

Such  is  a  brief  summary  of  what  has  been  generally  known 
regarding  the  metamorphoses  of  a  few  species  of  mites.  In 
a  few  kinds  no  males  have  been  found ;  the  females  have  been 
isolated  after  being  hatched,  and  yet  have  been  known  to  lay 
eggs,  which  produced  young  without  the  interposition  of  the 
males.  This  parthe- 
nogenesis has  been  .  .  \\J 
noticed  in  several  spe- 
cies. 

These  insects  often 
suddenly  appear  in 
vast  numbers  on  vari- 
ous articles  of  food 
and  about  houses,  so 
as  to  be  very  annoy- 
ing. Mr.  J.  J.  H. 
Gregory,  of  Marble- 
head,  Mass.,  has  found 
a  mite  allied  to  the 
European  species  here 
figured  (Fig.  144)  very 
injurious  to  the  seeds 
of  the  cabbage,  which-  144'  Cheyletus- 

it  sucked  dry.  This  is  an  interesting  form,  and  we  have  called 
it  Cheyletus  seminivorus.  It  is  of  medium  size,  and  especially 
noticeable  from  the  tripartite  palpi,  which  are  divided  into  an 
outer,  long,  curved,  claw-like  lobe,  with  two  rounded  teeth  at 
the  base,  and  two  inner,  slender  lobes  pectinated  on  the  inner 
side,  the  third  innermost  lobe  being  minute.  The  beak  termi- 
nates in  a  sharp  blade-like  point. 

We  have  received  a  Cheyletus-like  mite,  said  to  have  been 
"extracted  from  the  human  face"  in  New  Orleans.  The  body  is 
oblong,  square  behind ;  the  head  is  long  and  pointed,  while  the 
maxillae  end  in  a  long,  curved,  toothed,  sickle-like  blade.  That 
this  creature  has  the  habits  of  the  itch  mite  is  suggested  by  the 


120  MITES  AND  TICKS. 

curious,  large,  hair-like  spines  with  which  the  body  and  legs  are 
sparsely  armed,  some  being  nearly  half  as  long  as  the  body. 
These  hairs  are  covered  with  very  fine  spinules.  Those  on  the 
end  of  the  body  are  regularly  spoon-shaped.  These  strange 
hairs,  which  are  thickest  on  the  legs,  probably  assisted  the  mite 
in  anchoring  itself  in  the  skin  of  its  host.  We  have  read  no 
account  of  this  strange  and  interesting  form.  It  is  allied  to  the 
Acaropsis  Mericourti  which  lines  in  the  huma'n  face. 

A  species,  "apparently  of  the  genus  Gamasus,"  according  to 
Dr.  Leidy,  has  been  found  living  in  the  ear  (at  the 'bottom  of 
the  external  auditory  meatus,  and  attached  to  the  membrana 
tympani)  of  steers.  "Whether  this  mite  is  a  true  parasite  of 
the  ear  of  the  living  ox,  or  whether  it  obtained  access  to  the 
position  in  which  it  was  found  after  the  death  of  the  ox  in  the 
slaughter  house,  has  not  yet  been  determined." 

We  will  now  give  a  hasty  glance  at  the  different  groups  of 
mites,  pausing  to  note  those  most  interesting  from  their  habits 
or  relation  to  man. 

The  most  highly  organized  mite  (and  by  its  structure  most 
closely  allied  to  the  spider)' is  the  little  red  garden  mite,  belong- 
ing to  the  genus  Trombidium,  to  which  the  genus  Tetranychus 
is  also  nearly  related.  Our  own  species  of  the  former  genus 
have  not  been  "worked  up,"  or  in  other  words  identified  and 
described,  so  that  whether  the  European  T.  holosericeum  Linn, 
is  our  species  or  not,  we  cannot  tell.  The  larvae  of  this  and 
similar  species  are  known  to  live  parasitically  upon  Harvest- 
men  (Phalangium),  often  called  •  Daddy-long-legs  ;  and  upon 
Aphides,  grasshoppers  and  other  insects.  Mr.  Riley  has  made 
known  to  us  through  the  "American  Naturalist"  (and  from  his 
account  our  information  is  taken),  the  habits  of  certain  young 
of  the  garden  mite  (Trombidium)  which  are  excessively  annoy- 
ing in  the  Southwestern  States.  The  first  is  the  Leptus  ?  Amer- 
icanus  (Fig.  145),  or  American  Harvest  mite.  It  is  only  known 
as  yet  in  the  larval  or  Leptus  state,  when  it  is  of  the  form  indi- 
cated in  the  cut,  and  brick  red  in  color.  "This  species  is  barely 
visible  with  the  naked  eye,  moves  readily  and  is  found  more 
frequently  upon  children  than  upon  adults.  It  lives  mostly  on 
the  scalp  and  under  the  arm  pits,  but  is  frequently  found  on  the 
other  parts  of  the  body.  It  does  not  bury  itself  in  the  flesh, 
but  simply  insinuates  the  anterior  part  of  the  body  just  under 
the  skin,  thereby  causing  intense  irritation,  followed  by  a  little 


HARVEST   MITE.  121 

red  pimple.  As  with  our  common  ticks,  the  irritation  lasts  only 
while  the  animal  is  securing  itself,  and  its  presence  would  after- 
wards scarcely  be  noticed  but  for  the  pimple  which  results." 

The  second  species  (Fig.  145  6,  Leptus  ?  irritans)  is  also  only 
known  in  the  Leptus  stage.  It  is  evidently  the  larva  of  a  dis- 
tinct genus  from  the  other  form,  having  enormous  maxilla?  and 
a  broad  body;  it  is, also  brick  red.  Mr.  Riley  says  that  "this  is 
the  most  troublesome  and,  perhaps,  best  known  of  the  two, 
causing  intense  irritation  and  swelling  on  all  parts  of  the  body, 
but  more  especially  on  the  legs  and  around  the  ankles.  Woe 
betide  the  person  who,  after  bathing  in  the  Mississippi  any- 
where in  this  latitude,  is  lured  to  some  green  dressing-spot  of 
weeds  or  grass !  He  may,  for  the  time,  consider  himself  fortu- 

b 


145  a.  American  Harvest  Mite;  6.  Irritating  Harvest  Mite;  the  dots  under- 
neath indicating  the  natural  size. 

nate  in  getting  rid  of  mud  and  dirt,  but  he  will  afterwards  find  to 
his  sorrow  that  he  exchanged  them  for  something  far  more  tena- 
cious in  these  microscopic  Harvest-mites.  If  he  has  obtained 
a  good  supply  of  them,  he  will  in  a  few  hours  begin  to  suffer 
from  severe  itching,  and  for  the  next  two  or  three  days  will  be 
likely  to  .scratch  until  his  limbs  are  sore. 

"With  the  strong  mandibles  and  the  elbowed  maxillre  which 
act  like  arms,  this  mite  is  able  to  bury  itself  completely  in  the 
flesh,  thereby  causing  a  red  swelling  with  a  pale  pustulous  cen- 
tre containing  watery  matter.  If,  in  scratching,  he  is  fortunate 
enough  to  remove  the  mite  before  it  enters,  the  part  soon  heals. 
But  otherwise  the  irritation  lasts  for  two,  three  or  four  days, 
the  pustulous  centre  reappearing' as  often  as  it  is  broken. 
11 


122  MITES  AND   TICKS. 

"  The  animal  itself,  on  account  of  its  minute  size,  is  seldom 
seen,  and  the  uninitiated,  when  first  troubled  with  it,  are  often 
alarmed  at  the  symptoms  and  at  a  loss  to  account  for  them. 
Fortunately  these  little  plagues  never  attach  themselves  to  per- 
sons in  such  immense  numbers  as  do  sometimes  young  or  so- 
called 'seed' ticks;  but  I  have  known  cases  where,  from  the 
irritation  and  consequent  scratching,  the  flQsh  had  the  appear- 
ance of  being  covered  with  ulcers ;  and  in  some  localities, 
where  these  pests  most  abound,  sulphur  is  often  sprinkled  dur- 
ing 'jigger*  season  in  the  boots  or  shoes  as  a  protection. 

"Sulphur  ointment  is  the  best  remedy  against  the  effects  of 
either  of  these  mites,  though  when  that  cannot  be  obtained, 
saleratus  water  and  salt  water  will  partially  allay  the  irritation. 
*"The  normal  food  of  either  must,  apparently,  consist  of  the 
juices  of  plants,  and  the  love  of  blood  proves  ruinous  to  those 
individuals  who  get  a  chance  to  indulge  it.    For 
unlike   the   true   Jigger,  the   female  of  which 
deposits  eggs  in  the  wound  she  makes,  these 
Harvest-mites  have  no  object  of  the  kind,  and 
when   not  killed  by  the  hands  of  those  they 
torment,  they  soon  die  victims  to  their  san- 
guinary appetite." 

Another  Leptus-like  form  is  the  parasite  of 
146.  Astoma  of  the  the  fly,  described  by  Mr.  Riley  under  the  name 
of  Astoma?  muscarum  (Fig.  146).    How  nearly 
allied  it  is  to  the  European  Astoma  parasiticum  wre  have  not  the 
means  of  judging. 

The  European  Tetranychus  telarius  Linn.,  or  web-making 
mite,  spins  large  webs  on  the  leaves  of  the  linden  tree.  Then 
succeed  in  the  natural  order  the  water  mites  (Hydrachna),  which 
may  be  seen  running  over  submerged  sticks  and  on  plants, 
mostly  in  fresh  water,  and  rarely  on  the  borders  of  the  sea. 
The  young  after  leaving  the  egg  differ  remarkably  from  the 
adults,  so  as  to  have  been  referred  to  a  distinct  genus  (Achly- 
sia)  by  the  great  French  naturalist,  Audouin.  They  live  as 
parasites  on  various  water  insects,  such  as  Dytiscus,  Nepa  and 
Hydrometra,  and  when  mature  live  free  in  the  water,  though 
Von  Baer  observed  an  adult  Hydrachna  concharum  living  para- 
sitically  on  the  gills  of  the  fresh-water  mussel,  Anodon.  The 
species  are  of  minute  size.  Collectors  of  beetles  often  meet 
with  a  species  of  Uropoda  attached  firmly  to  their  specimens  of 


CATTLE  TICK. 


123 


dung-inhabiting  or  carrion  beetles.  It  is  a  smoothly  polished, 
round,  flattened  mite,  with  short,  thick  legs,  scarcely  reaching 
beyond  the  body. 

We  now  come  to  the  Ticks,  which  comprise  the  largest  mites. 
The  genus  Argas  closely  resembles  Ixodes.  Gerstaecker  states 
that  the  Argas  Persicus  is  very  annoying  to  travellers  in  Persia. 
The  habits  of  the  wood  ticks  (Ixodes)  are  well  known.  Travel- 
lers in  the  tropics  speak  of  the  intolerable  torment  occasioned 
by  these  pests  which,  occurring  ordinarily  on  shrubs  and  trees, 
attach  themselves  to  all  sorts  of  reptiles,  beasts  and  cattle,  and 
even  man  himself  as  he  passes  by  within  their  reach.  Some- 
times cases  fall  within  the  practice  of  the  physician,  who  is 
called  to  remove  the  tick,  which  is  found  sometimes  literally 
buried  beneath  the  skin.  Mr.  J.  Stauffer  writes  me,  that  "on 
June  23d  the  daughter  of  Abraham  Jackson  (colored),  playing 
among  the  leaves  in  a  wood,  near 
Springville,  Lancaster  County, 
Penn.,  on  her  return  home  com- 
plained of  pain  in  the  arm.  No 
attention  was  paid  to  it  till  the 
next  day,  when  a  raised  tumor 
was  noticed,  a  small  portion  pro- 
truding through  the  skin,  appar- 
ently like  a  splinter  of  wood. 
The  child  was  taken  to  Dr. 
Morency,  who  applied  the  for- 
ceps, and  after  considerable  pain 
to  the  child,  and  labor  to  himself,  extracted  a  species  of  Ixodes, 
nearly  one-quarter  of  an  inch  long,  and  of  an  oval  form  and 
brown  mahogany  color,  with  a  metallic  spot,  like  silver  bronze, 
centrally  on  the  dorsal  region."  This  tick  proved,  from  Mr. 
Stauffcr's  figures,  to  be,  without  doubt,  Ixodes  unipunctata.  It 
has  also  been  found  in  Massachusetts  by  Mr.  F.  G.  Sanborn. 

Another  species  is  the  Ixodes  bovis  (Fig.  147),  the  common 
cattle  tick  of  the  Western  States  and  Central  America.  It  is 
very  annoying  to  horned  cattle,  gorging  itself  with  their  blood, 
but  is  by  no  means  confined  to  them  alone,  as  it  lives  indiffer- 
ently upon  the  rattlesnake,  the  iguana,  small  mammals  and 
undoubtedly  any  other  animal  that  brushes  by  its  lurking-place 
in  the  forest.  It  is  a  reddish,  coriaceous,  flattened,  seed-like 
creature,  with  the  body  oblong  oval,  and  contracted  just  behind 


147.  Cattle  Tick. 


124  MITES   AND    TICKS. 

the  middle.  When  fully  grown  it  measures  from  a  quarter  to 
half  an  inch  in  length.  We  have  received  it  from  Missouri,  at 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Riley,  and  Mr.  J.  A.  McNiel  has  found  it  very 
abundantly  on  horned  cattle  on  the  western  coast  of  Nicaragua. 
We  now  come  to  the  genus  Acarus  (Tyrogly pirns),  of  which 
the  cheese  and  sugar  mites  are  examples.  Some  species  of 
Acarian  mites  have  been  found  in  the  lungs  and  blood-vessels, 
and  even  the  intestinal  canal  of  certain  vertebrates,  while  the 
too  familiar  itch  insect  lurks  under  the  skin  of  the  hand  and 
other  parts  of  the  body  of  certain  uncleanly  human  bipeds. 

Many  people  have  been  startled  by  statements  in  newspapers 
and  more  authoritative  sources,  as  to  the  immense  numbers  of 
mites    (Acarus   sacchari,  Fig.  148)    found  in  unrefined  or  raw 
sugar.      Accordiug  to  Prof.    Cameron, 
of  Dublin,  as  quoted  in  the  "Journal  of 
the  Franklin  Institute,"  for  November, 
1868,  "Dr.  Hassel  (who  was  the  first  to 
notice  their  general  occurrence  in  the 
raw  sugar  sold  at  London)  found  them 
in  a  living  state  in  no  fewer  than  sixty- 
nine  out  of  seventy-two  samples.     He 
did  not  detect  them  in  a  single  speci- 
men of  refined  sugar.     In   an   inferior 
sample    of    raw    sugar,    examined    in 
148  Su"-ar  Mite  Dublin    by    Mr.    Cameron,   he    reports 

finding  five  hundred  mites  in  ten  grains 

of  sugar,  so  that  in*  a  pound's  weight  occurred  one  hundred 
thousand  of  these  little  creatures,  which  seem  to  have  devoted 
themselves  with  a  martyr-like  zeal  to  the  adulteration  of  sugar. 
They  appear  as  white  specks  in  the  sugar.  The  disease  known 
as  grocer's  itch  is,  undoubtedly,  due  to  the  presence  of  this  mite, 
which,  like  its  ally  the  Sarcoptes,  works  its  way  under  the  skin 
of  the  hand,  in  this  case,  however,  of  cleanly  persons.  Mr. 
Cameron  states  that  "the  kind  of  sugar  which  is  both  health- 
ful and  economical,  is  the  dry,  large-grained  and  light- colored 
variety." 

Closely  allied  to  the  preceding,  is  the  Cheese  mite  (Acarus 
siro  Linn.),  which  often  abounds  in  newly  made  cheese.  Lyonet 
states  that  during  summer  this  mite  is  viviparous.  Acarus 
farinse  DeGeer,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  found  in  flour.  Other 
species  have  been  known  to  occur  in  ulcers. 


ITCH    MITE. 


125 


We  should   also  mention  the  Mange    insect  of   the    horse 
(Psoroptes  equi,  Fig.  149,  much  enlarged;  a,  head  more  magni- 
fied).    According  to  Prof.  Verrill  it   is   readily  visible   to  the 
.naked  eye  and  swarms  on  horses  afflicted  with  the  mange,  which 


149.  Mange  Mite. 


150.  Itch  Mite. 


is  a  disease  analogous  to  the  itch  in  man.  It  has  a  soft, 
depressed  body,  spiny  beneath  at  the  base  of  the  legs  and  on 
the  thorax.  One  or  both  of  the  two  posterior  pairs  of  feet  bear 
suckers,  and  all  are  more  or  less  covered  with  long, 
slender  hairs.  This  insect  may  be  destroyed  by  the 
same  remedies  as  are  used  for  lice  and  for  the  human 
itch.  The  best  remedy  is  probably  a  solution  of-  sul- 
plmret  of  potassium. 

The  itch  insect  (Sarcoptes  scabiei,  Fig.  150)  was  first 
recognized  by  an  Arabian  author  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, as  the  cause  of  the  disease  which  results  from 
its  attacks.  The  body  of  the  insect  is  rounded,  with 
the  two  hind  pair  of  feet  rudimentary  and  bearing 
long  hairs.  It  buries  itself  in  the  skin  on  the  more 
protected  parts  of  the  body,  and  by  its  punctures  isr.  Nose 
maintains  a  constant  irritation.  Other  species  are  Mite. 
known  to  infest  the  sheep  and  dog.  Another  singular  mite  is 
the  Demodex  folliculorum  (Fig.  151),  which  was  discovered  by 
Dr.  Simon,  of  Berlin,  buried  in  the  diseased  follicles  of  the  wings 
of  the  nose  in  man.  It  is  a  long,  slender,  worm-like  form,  with 


126  MITES  AND  TICKS. 

t  _      0 

eight  short  legs,  and  in  the  larva  state  has  six  legs.  This  sin- 
gular form  is  one  of  the  lowest  and  most  degraded  of  the  order 
of  Arachnids.  A  most  singular  mite  was  discovered  by  New- 
port on  the  body  of  a  larva  of  a  wild  bee,  and  described  by  him 
under  the  name  of  Heteropus  ventricosus.  The  body  of  the 
fully  formed  female  is  long  and  slender.  After  attaining  this 
form,  its  small  abdomen  begins  to  enlarge  until  it  assumes  a 
globular  form,  and  the  mass  of  mites  look  like  little  beads.  Mr. 
Newport  was  unable  to  discover  the  male,  and  thought  that  this 
mite  was  parthenogenous.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  adult  Dem- 
odex  retains  the  elongated,  worm-like  appearance  of  the  larva 
of  the  higher  mites,  such  as  Typhlodromus.  This  is  an  indica- 
tion of  its  low  rank,  and  hints  of  a  relationship  to  the  Tardi- 
grades  and  the  Pentastoma,  the  latter  being  a  degraded  mite, 
and  the  lowest  of  its  order,  living  parasitically  within  the  bodies 
of  other  animals. 


Harvestman. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

BRISTLE-TAILS    AND    SPRING-TAILS. 

THE  Thysanura,  as  the  Poduras  and  their  allies,  the  Lepismas, 
are  called,  have  been  generally  neglected  by  entomologists,  and 
but  few  naturalists  have  paid  special  attention  to  them.*  Of  all 
those  microscopists  who  have  examined  Podura  scales  as  test 
objects,  we  wonder  how  many  really  know  what  a  Podura  is? 

In  preparing  the  following  account  I  have  been  under  constant 
indebtedness  to  the  admirable  and  exhaustive  papers  of  Sir  John 
Lubbock,  in  the.London  "Linnaean  Transactions"  (vols.  23,  26 
and  27).  Entomologists  will  be  glad  to  learn  that  he  is  shortly 
going  to  press  with  a  volume  on  the  Poduras,  which,  in  distinc- 
tion from  the  Lepismas,  to  which  he  restricts  the  term  Thysa- 
nura, he  calls  Collembola,  in  allusion  to  the  sucker-like  tubercle 
situated  on  the  under  side  of  the  body,  which  no  other  insects 
are  known  to  possess. 

The  group  of  Bristle-tails,  as  we  would  dub  the  Lepismas  in 
distinction  from  the  Spring-tails,  we  will  first  consider.  They 
are  abundant  in  the  Middle  States  under  stones  and  leaves  in 
forests,  and  northward  are  common  in  damp  houses,  while  one 

*Nicolet,  in  the  "Annales  de  laSociete  Entomologique  de  France"  (tome  v,  1847), 
has  given  us  the  most  comprehensive  «ssay  on  the  group,  though  Latreille  had 
previously  published  an  important  essay,  "De  1'Organization  Exterieure  de3  Thy- 
sanoures"  in  the  "Nouvelles  Annales  du  Museum  d'Histoire  Naturelle,  Paris, 
1832,"  which  I  have  not  seen.  Gervais  has  also  given  a  useful  account  of  them  iu 
the  third  volume  of  "Apteres  "  of  Roret's  Suite  a  Buffon,  published  in  1844. 

The  Abbe  Bourlet,  Templeton,  Westwood,  and  Haliday  have  published  important 
papers  on  the  Thysanura;  and  Meinert,  a  Danish  naturalist,  and  Olfers,  a  German 
anatomist,  have  published  important  papers  on  the  anatomy  of  the  group.  In  this 
country  Say  and  Fitch  have  described  less  than  a  dozen  species,  and  the  writer  has 
described  two  American  species  of  Campodea,  C.  Americana,  our  common  form, 
and  C.  Cookei,  discovered  by  Mr.  C.  Cooke  in  Mammoth  Cave,  while  Humbert  has 
described  in  a  French  scientific  journal  a  species  of  Japyx  (J.  Saussurii)  from 
Mexico. 

(127) 


128  BRISTLE-TAILS    AND  SPRING-TAILS. 

beautiful  species  that  we  have  never  noticed  elsewhere,  is 
our  "cricket  on  the  hearth,"  abounding  in  the  chinks  and 
crannies  of  the  range  of  our  house,  and  also  in  closets,  where  it 
feeds  on  sugar,  etc.,  and  comes  out  like  cockroaches,  at  night, 
shunning  the  light.  Like  the  cockroaches,  which  it  vaguely 
resembles  in  form,  this  species  loves  hot  and  dry  localities, 
in  distinction  from  the  others  which  seek  moisture  as  well 
•as  darkness.  By  some  they  are  called  "  silver  witches,"  and  as 
they  dart  off,  when  disturbed,  like  a  streak  of  light,  their  bodies 
beiqg  coated  in  a  suit  of  shining  mail,  which  the  arrangement 
of  the  scales  resembles,  they  have  really  a  weird  and  ghostly 
look. 

The  most  complicated  genus,  and  the  one  which  stands  at  the 
head  of  the  family,  is  Machilis,  one  species  of  which  lives  in 
the  Northern  and  Middle  States,  and  another  in  Oregon.  They 
affect  damp  places,  living  under  leaves  and  stones.  They  all 
have  rounded,  highly  arched  bodies,  and  large  compound  eyes, 
the  two  being  united  together.  The  maxillary  palpi  are  greatly 
developed,  but  the  chief  characteristics  are  the  two-jointed 
stylets  arranged  in  nine  pairs  along  each  side  of  the  abdomen, 
reminding  us  of  the  abdominal  legs  of  Myriopods.  The  body 
ends  in  three  long  bristles,  as  in  Lepisma. 

The  Lepisma  saccharina  of  Linnaeus,  if,  as  is  probable,  that  is 
the  name  of  our  common  species,  is  not  uncommon  in  old  damp 
houses,  where  it  has  the  habits  of  the  cockroach,  eating  cloths, 
tapestry,  silken  trimmings  of  furniture,  and  doing  occasional 
damage  to  libraries  by  devouring  the  paste,  and  eating  holes  in 
the  leaves  and  covers  of  books. 

In  general  form  Lepisma  may  be  compared  to  the  larva  of 
Perla,  a  net-veined  Neuropterous  insect,  and  also  to  the  narrow- 
bodied  species  of  cockroaches,  minus  the  wings.  The  body  is 
long  and  narrow,  covered  with  rather  coarse  scales,  and  ends 
in  three  many  jointed  anal  stylets,  or  bristles,  which  closely 
resemble  the  many  jointed  antenna,  which  are  remarkably  long 
and  slender.  The  thermophilous  species  already  alluded  to  may 
be  described  as  perhaps  the  type  of  the  genus,  the  L.  saccharina 
being  simpler  in  its  structure.  The  body  is  narrow  and  flat- 
tened; the  basal  joints  of  the  legs  being  broad,  flat  and  almost 
triangular,  like  the  same  joints  in  the  cockroaches.  The  legs 
consist  of  six  joints,  the  tarsal  joints  being  large  and  two  in 
number,  and  bearing  a  pair  of  terminal  curved  claws.  The 


MOUTH-PARTS  OF  LEPISMA.  129 

three  thoracic  segments  are  of  nearly  equal  size,  and  the  eight 
abdominal  segments  are  also  of  similar  size.  The  tracheae 
are  well  developed,  and  may  be  readily  seen  in  the  legs.  The 
end  of  the  rather  long  and  weak  abdomen  is  propped  up  by 
two  or  three  pairs  of  bristles,  which  are  simple,  not  jointed, 
but  moving  freely  at  their  insertion ;  thus  they  take  the  place 
of  legs,  and  remind  one  of  the  abdominal  legs  of  the  Myri- 
opods ;  and  we  shall  see  in  certain  other  genera  (Machilis  and 
Campodea)  of  the  Bristle-tails  that  there  are  actually  two- 
jointed  bristles  arranged  in  pairs  along  the  abdomen.  They 
may  probably  be  directly  compared  with  the  abdominal  legs  of 
Myriopods.  Further  study,  however,  of  the  homologies  of  these 
peculiar  appendages,  and  especially  a  knowledge  of  the  embry- 
*ological  development  of  Lepisma  and  Machilis,  is  needed  before 
this  interesting  point  can  be  definitely  settled.  The  three  many 
jointed  anal  stylets  may,  however,  be  directly  compared  with 
the  similar  appendages  of  Perla  and  Ephemera.  The  mode  of 
insertion  of  the  antennae  of  this  family  is  much  like  that  of  the 
Myriopods,  the  front  of  the  head  being  flattened,  and  concealing 
the  base  of  the  antennae,  as  in  the  Centipedes  and  Pauropus. 
Indeed,  the  head  of  any  Thysanurous  insect  seen  from  above, 
bears  a  general  resemblance  in  some  of  its  features  to  that  of 
the  Centipede  and  its  allies.  So  in  a  less  degree  does  the  head 
of  the  larvae  of  certain  Neuroptera  and  Coleoptera.  The  eyes 
are  compound,  the  single  facets  forming  a  sort  of  heap.  The 
clypeus  and  labrum,  or  upper  lip,  is,  in  all  the  Thysanura,  car- 
ried far  down  on  the  under  side  of  the  head,  the  clypeus  being 
almost  obsolete  in  the  PodurJUae,  this  being  one  of  the  most 
essential  characters  of  that  family.  Indeed,  it  is  somewhat 
singular  that  these  and  other  important  characteristics  of  this 
group  have  been  almost  entirely  passed  over  by  authors,  who 
have  consequently  separated  these  insects  from  other  groups  on 
what  appear  to  the  writer  as  comparatively  slight  and  inconsid- 
erable characters.  The  mouth-parts  of  the  Lepismatidse  (espe- 
cially the  thermophilous  Lepisma,  which  we  now  describe)  are 
most  readily  compared  with  those  of  the  larva  of  Perla.  The 
rather  large,  stout  mandibles  are  concealed  at  their  tips,  under 
the  upper  lip,  which  moves  freely  up  and  down  when  the  crea- 
ture opens  its  mouth.  The  mandible  is  about  one- third  as  broad 
as  long,  armed  with  three  sharp  teeth  on  the  outer  edge,  and 
with  a  broad  cutting  edge  within,  and  still  further  inwards  a  lot 


130  BRISTLE- TAILS  AND   SPRING- TAILS. 

of  straggling  spinules.  In  all  these  particulars,  the  mandible  of 
Lepisraa  is  comparable  with  that  of  certain  Coleoptera  and  Neu- 
roptera.  So  also  are  the  maxillae  and  labium,  though  we  are 
not  aware  that  any  one  has  indicated  how  close  the  homology 
is.  The  accompanying  figure  (152)  of  the  maxilla  of  a  beetle 
may.  serve  as  an  example  of  the  maxilla  of  the  Coleoptera, 
Orthoptera  and  Neuroptera.  In  these  insects  it  consists  almost 
invariably  of  three  lobes,  the  outer  being  the  palpus,  the  middle 
lobe  the  galea,  and  the  innermost  the  laciuia;  the  latter  under- 
going the  greatest  modifications,  forming  a  comb  composed  of 
spines  and  hairs  varying  greatly  in  relative  size  and  length. 
How  much  the  palpi  vary  in  these  groups  of  insects  is  well 
known.  The  galea  sometimes  forms  a  palpus-like  appendage. 
Now  these  three  lobes  may  be  easily  distinguished* 
in  the  maxilla  of  Lepisma.  The  palpus  Instead  of 
being  directed  forward,  as  in  the  insects  mentioned 
above  (in  the  pupa  of  Ephemera  the  maxilla  is 
much  like  that  of  Lepisma),  is  inserted  nearer  the 
base  than  usual  and  thrown  off  at  right  angles  to 
152  Ma-  the  maxilla>  so  tliat/  ifc  is  stretched  out  like  a  leg, 
and  in  moving  about  the  insect  uses  its  maxillae 
partly  as  supports  for  its  head.  They  are  very  long  and  large, 
and  five  or  six-jointed.  The  galea,  or  middle  division,  forms  a 
simple  lobe,  while  the  lacinia  has  two  large  chitinous  teeth  on 
the  inner  edge,  and  internally  four  or  five  hairs  arising  from 
a  thin  edge. 

The  labium  is  much  as  in  that  of  JPerla,  being  broad  and  short, 
with  a  distinct  median  suture,  indicating  its  former  separation 
in  embryonic  life  into  a  pair  of  appendages.  The  labial  palpi 
are  three-jointed,  the  joints  being  broad,  and  in  life  directed 
backwards  instead  of  forwards  as  in  the  higher  insects. 

There  are  five  American  species  of  the  genus  Lepisma  in  the 
Museum  of  the  Peabody  Academy.  Besides  the  common  L.  sac- 
charina?  there  are  four  undescribed  species;  one  found  about 
outhouses  and  cellars,  and  the  heat-loving  form,  perhaps  an 
imported  species,  found  in  a  kitchen  in  Salem,  and  apparently 
allied  to  the  L.  thermophila  Lucas,  of  houses  in  Brest,  France ; 
and  lastly  two  allied  forms,  one  from  Key  West,  and  another 
from  Polvon,  Western  Nicaragua,  collected  by  Mr.  McNiel. 
The  last  three  species  are  beautifully  ornamented  with  finely 
spinulated  hairs  arranged  in  tufts  on  the  head ;  while  the  sides 


NICOLETIA. 


131 


of  the  body,  and  edges  of  the  basal  joints  of  the  legs  are 
fringed  with  them. 

The  interesting  genus  Nicoletia  stands  at  the  bottom  of  the 
group.  'It  has  the  long,  linear,  scaleless  body  of  Campodea,  in 
the  family  below,  but  the  head  and  its  appendages  are  like 
Lepisma,  the  maxillary  palpi  being  five-jointed,  and  the  labial 
palpi  four-jointed.  The  eyes  are  simple,  arranged  in  a  row  of 


153.  Japyx  solifugus. 

seven  on  each  side  of  the  head.  The  abdomen  ends  in  three 
long  and  many  jointed  stylets,  and  there  are  the  usual  "  false 
branchial  feet"  along  each  side  of  the  abdomen.  There  are  two 
European  species  which  occur  in  greenhouses.  No  species 
have  yet  been  found  in  America. 

The  next  family  of  Thysanura  is  the  Campodeae,  comprising 
the  two  genera  Campodea  and  Japyx.    These  insects  are  much 


132 


BKISTLE- TAILS   AND   SPHING-TAILS. 


smaller  than  the  Lepismidae,  and  in  some  respects  are  interme- 
diate between  that  family  and  the  Poduridae  (including  the 
Smynthuridse). 

In  this  family  the  body  is  long  and  slender,  and  the  segments 
much  alike  in  size.  There  is  a  pair  of  spiracles  on  each  thoracic 
ring.  The  mandibles  are  long  and  slender,  ending  in  three  or 
four  teeth,  and  with  the  other  appen- 
dages of  the  mouth  are  concealed 
within  the  head,  "only  the  tips  of  the 
palpi  (and  of  the  maxillae  when  these 
are  opened)  projecting  a  very  little 
beyond  the  rounded  entire  margin  of 
the  epistoma,"  according  to  Haliclay. 
The  maxillae  are  comb-shaped,  due  to 
the  four  slender,  minutely  ciliated 
spines  placed  within  the  outer  tooth. 
The  labium  in  Japyx  is  four-lobed  and 
bears  a  small  two-jointed  palpus.  The 
legs  are  five-jointed,  the  tarsi  consist- 
ing of  a  single  joint,  ending  in  two 
large  claws.  The  abdomen  consists 
of  ten  segments,  and  in  Campodea 
along  each  side  is  a  series  of  minute, 
two-jointed  appendages  such  as  have 
been  described  in  Machilis.  These  are 

wanting  in  Japyx.     None  of  the  spe- 
154.  Campodea  staphylinus.     cieg  in  thig  family  haye  the  body  coy. 

ered  with  scales.     They  are  white,  with  a  yellowish  tinge. 

The  more  complicated  genus  of  the  two  is  Japyx  (Fig.  153, 
Japyx  solifugus,  found  under  stones  in  Southern  Europe ;  a,  the 
mouth  from  beneath,  with  the  maxillae  open ;  6,  maxilla ;  d,  man- 
dible; c,  outline  of  front  of  head  seen  from  beneath,  with  the 
labial  palpi  in  position)  which,  as  remarked  by  the  late  Mr.  Hal- 
iday  (who  has  published  an  elaborate  essay  on  this  genus  in  the 
Linnsean  Transactions,  vol.  24,  1864),  resembles  Forficula  in  the 
large  forceps  attached  to  its  tail.  An  American  species  (J.  Saus- 
surii)  lives  in  Mexico,  and  we  look  for  its  discovery  in  Texas. 

Campodea  (C.  staphylinus  Westw.,  Fig.  154,  enlarged ;  a, 
mandible;  b,  maxilla),  otherwise  closely  related,  has  more  rudi- 
mentary mouth- parts,  and  the  abdomen  ends  in  two  many 
jointed  appendages. 


CAMPODEA.  133 

Our  common  American  species  of  Campoclea  (C.  Americana) 
lives  under  stones  in  damp  places.  It  is  yellowish,  about  a 
sixth  of  an  inch  in  length,  is  very  agile  in  its  movements,  and 
would  easily  be  mistaken  for  a  very  young  Lithobius.  A  larger 
species  and  differing  in  having  longer  antennae,  has  been  found 
by  Mr.  C..Cooke  in  Mammoth  Cave,  and  has  been  described 
in  the  "American  Naturalist"  under  the  name  of  Campodea 
Cookei.  Haliclay  has  remarked  that  this  family  bears  much 
resemblance  to  the  Neuropterous  larva  of  Perla  (Fig.  155),  as 
previously  remarked  by  Gervais ;  and  the  many  points  of  resem- 
blance of  this  family  and  the  Lepismidae  to  the  larval  forms  of 
some  Neuroptera  that  are  active  in  the  pupa  state  (the  Pseudo- 
neuroptera  of  Erichson  and  other  authors)  are  very  striking. 
Campodea  resembles  the  earliest  larval  form  of  Chloeon,  as 
figured  by  Sir  John  Lubbock,  even  to 
the  single  jointed  tarsus ;  and  why  these 
two  Thysanurous  families  should  be 
removed  from  the  Neuroptera  we  are 
unable,  at  present,  to  understand,  as  to 
our  mind  they  scarcely  diverge  from  the 
Neuropterous  type  more  than  the  Mallo- 
phaga,  or  biting  lice,  from  the  type  of 
Hemiptera. 

Haliday,  remarking  on  the  opinion  of 
Linnaeus    and    Schrank,   who    referred 
Campodea  to  the  old  genus  Podura,  says    Fig' 155<  Lan 
with  much  truth,  "it  may  be  perhaps  no  unfair  inference  to 
draw,  that  the  insect  in  question  is  in  some  measure  inter- 
mediate between  both,"  i.  e.,  Podura  and  Lepisma.      This  is 
seen  especially  in  the  mouth-parts  which  are  withdrawn  into 
the  head,  and  become  very  rudimentary,  affording  a  gradual 
passage  into  the  mouth-parts  of  the  Poduridae,  which  we  now 
describe. 

The  next  group,  the  Podurelles  of  Nicolet,  and  Collembola 
of  Lubbock,  are  considered  by  the  latter,  who  has  studied  them 
with  far  more  care  than  any  one  else,  as  "less  closely  allied"  to 
the  Lepismidse  "than  has  hitherto  been  supposed."  He  says 
"the  presence  of  tracheae,  the  structure  of  the  mouth  and  the 
abdominal  appendage,  all  indicate  a  wide  distinction  between 
the  Lepismidae  and  the  Poduridae.  We  must,  indeed,  in  my 
opinion,  separate  them  entirely  from  one  another ;  and  I  would 
12 


134:  BRISTLE-TAILS  AND   SPRING-TAILS. 

venture  to  propose  for  the  group  comprised  in  the  old  genus 
Podura,  the  term  Collembola,  as  indicating  the  existence  of  a 
projection,  or  mammilla,  enabling  the  creature  to  attach  or  glue 
itself  to  the  body  on  which  it  stands."  Then  without  expressing 
his  views  as  to  the  position  and  affinities  of  the  Lepismida3,  he 
remarks  "as  the  upshot  of  all  this,  then,  while  the  Collembola 
are  clearly  more  nearly  allied  to  the  Insecta  than  to  the  Crus- 
tacea or  Arachnida,  we  cannot,  I  think,  regard  them  as  Orthop- 
tera  or  Neuroptera,  or  even  as  true  insects.  That  is  to  say,  the 
Coleoptera,  Orthoptera,  Neuroptera,  Lepidoptera,  etc.,  are  in  my 
opinion,  more  nearly  allied  to  one  another  than  they  are  to  the 
Poduridse  or  Smynthuridse.  On  the  other  hand,  we  certainly 
cannot  regard  the  Collembola  as  a  group  equivalent  in  value  to 
the  Insecta.  If,  then,  we  attempt  to  map  out  the  Articulata,  we 
must,  I  think,  regard  the  Crustacea  and  Insecta  as  continents, 
the  Myriopoda  and  Collembola  as  islands  —  of  less  importance, 
but  still  detached.  Or,  if  we  represent  the  divisions  of  the 
Articulata  like  the  branching  of  a  tree,  we  must  picture  the  Col- 
lembola as  a  separate  branch,  though  a  small  one,  and  much 
more  closely  connected  with  the  Insecta  than  with  the  Crustacea 
or  the  Arachuida."  Lamarck  regarded  them  as  more  nearly 
allied  to  the  Crustacea  than  Insecta.  Gervais,  also,  in  the  "His- 
toire  Naturelle  des  Insectes  :  Apteres,"  indicates  a  considerable 
diversity  existing  between  the  Lepismidae  and  Poduridae,  though 
they  are  placed  next  to  each  other.  Somewhat  similar  views 
have  been  expressed  by  so  high  an  authority  as  Professor  Dana, 
who,  in  the  "American  Journal  of  Science"  (vol.  37,  Jan.,  1864), 
proposed  a  classification  of  insects  based  on  the  principle  of 
cephalization,  and  divided  the  Hexapodous  insects  into  three 
groups :  the  first  (Ptero-prosthenics,  or  Ctenopters)  comprising 
the  Hymenoptera,  Diptera,  Aphaniptera  (fleas),  Lepidoptera, 
Homoptera,  Trichoptera  and  Neuroptera;  the  second  group 
(Ptero-metasthenics,  or  Elytropters)  comprising  the  Coleoptera, 
Hemiptera  and  Orthoptera;  while  the  Thysanura  compose  the 
third  group.  Lubbock  has  given  us  a  convenient  historical 
view  of  the  opinions  of  different  authors  regarding  the  classifi- 
cation of  these  insects,  which  we  find  useful.  Nicolet,  the  natu- 
ralist who,  previous  to  Lubbock,  has  given  us  the  most  correct 
and  complete  account  of  the  Thysanura,  regarded  them  as  an 
order,  equivalent  to  the  Coleoptera  or  Diptera,  for  example.  In 
this  he  followed  Latreille,  who  established  the  order  in  1796. 


PODURIDS.  135 

The  Abbe  Bourlet  adopted  the  same  view.  On  the  other  hand 
Burmeister  placed  the  Thysanura  as  a  separate  tribe  between 
the  Mallophaga  (Bird  Lice)  and  Orthoptera,  and  Gerstaecker 
placed  them  among  the  Orthoptera.  Fabricius  and  Blainville 
put  them  with  the  Neuroptera,  and  the  writer,  in  his  "Guide  to 
the  Study  of  Insects,"  and  previously  in  1863,  ignorant  of  the 
views  of  the  two  last  named  authors,  considered  the  Thysanura 
as  degraded  Neuroptera,  and  noticed  their  resemblance  to  the 
larvse  of  Perla,  Ephemera,  and  other  Neuroptera,  such  as  Rha- 
phidia  and  Panorpa,  regarding  them  as  standing  "in  the  same 
relation  to  the  rest  of  the  Neuroptera  [in  the  Linnsean  sense], 
as  the  flea  does  to  the  rest  of  the  Diptera,  or  the  lice  and  Thrips 
to  the  higher  Hemiptera." 

After  having  studied  the  Thysanura  enough  to  recognize  the 
great  difficulty  of  deciding  as  to  their  affinities  and  rank,  the 
writer  does  not  feel  prepared  to  go  so  far  as  Dana  and  Lubbock, 
for  reasons  that  will  be  suggested  in  the  follow- 
ing brief  account  of  the  more  general  points  in 
their  structure,  reserving  for  another  occasion  a 
final  expression  of  his  views  as  to  their  classifi- 
cation. 

The  Poduridse,  so  well  known  by  name,  as 
affording  the  scales  used  by  microscopists  as 
test  objects,  are  common  under  stones  and  wet 
chips,  or  in  clamp  places,  cella/s,  mushrooms 

and  about  manure  heaps.      They  need  moisture,  ,, 

156.  Smynthurus. 
and  consequently  shade.     They  abound  most  in 

spring  and  autumn,  laying  their  eggs  at  both  seasons,  though 
most  commonly  in  the  spring.  During  a  mild  December,  they 
may  be  found  in  abundance  under  sticks  and  stones,  even  in 
situations  so  far  north  as  Salem,  Mass. 

The  body  of  the  Poduras  is  rather  short  and  thick,  most  so  in 
Smynthurus  (Fig.  156),  and  becoming  long  and  slender  in  Tomo- 
cerus  and  Isotoma.  The  segments  are  inclined  to  be  of  unequal 
size,  the  prothoracic  ring  sometimes  becoming  almost  obsolete, 
and  some  of  the  abdominal  rings  are  much  smaller  than  others ; 
while  in  Lipura  and  Anura,  the  lowest  forms  of  the  group,  the 
segments  are  all  much  alike  in  size. 

The  head  is  in  form  much  like  that  of  certain  larvse  of  Neu- 
roptera and  of  Forficula,  an  Orthopterous  insect.  The  basal 
half  of  the  head  is  marked  off  from  the  eye-bearing  piece  (epi- 


136 


BRISTLE-TAILS   AND   SPRING-TAILS. 


157.  Head  of  De- 
geeria. 


cranium)  by  a  V-shaped  suture*  (Fig.  157,  head  of  Degeeria; 

compare  also  the  head  of  the  larva  of  Forficula,  Fig.  158?  in 

which  the  suture  is  the  same),  and  the  insertion  of  the  antennae 

is  removed  far  down  the  front,  near  the  mouth, 

the  clypeus  being  very  short;   this   piece,  so 

large  and  prominent  in  the  higher  insects,  is 

not  distinctly  separated  by  suture  from  the 

surrounding  parts  of  the  head,  thus  affording 

one  of  the  best  distinctive  characters  of  the 

Poduridae.    The   eyes  are  situated  on  top  of 

the  head  just  behind  ^;he  antennae,  and  are 

simple,  consisting  of  a  group  of  from  five  to 

eight  or  ten  united  into  a  mass  in  Smynthurus, 

but  separated  in  the  Poduridse  (see  Fig.  176,  e,  eye  of  Anurida). 

The  antennae  are  usually  four- 
jointed,  and  vary  in  length  in  the 
different  genera. 

The  mouth-parts  are  very  diffi- 
cult to  make  out,  but  by  soaking 
the  insect  in  potash  for  twenty- 
four  hours,  thus  rendering  the 
body  transparent,  they  can  be 
satisfactorily  observed.  They 
are  constructed  on  the  same  gen- 
eral type  as  the  mouth-parts  of 
the  Neuroptera,  Orthoptera  and 
Coleoptera,  and  except  in  being 
degraded,  and  with  certain  parts 

obsolete,  they  do  not  essentially  differ,  f    On  observing  the  living 

Podura,  the  mouth  seems  a  simple  ring,  with  a  minute  labrura 

and  groups  of  hairs  and  spinules,  which  the  observer,  partly  by 

*  The  direct  homologyof  these  parts  of  the  head  (the  occiput  and  the  epicra- 
nium)  with  Perla,  Forflcula,  etc.,  seems  to  me  the  best  evidence  we  could  have  that 
the  Podurse  are  not  an  independent  group.  In  these  most  fundamental  characters 
they  differ  widely  from  the  Myriopods.  ~I  am  not  aware  that  this  important  rela- 
tion has  been  appreciated  by  observers. 

fAs  we  descend  to  the  soft,  tube-like,  suctorial  (?)  mouth  of  Anura,  which  is  said 
not  to  have  hard  mouth-parts,  we  see  the  final  point  of  degradation  to  which  the 
mouth  of  the  Thysanura  is  carried.  I  think  that  this  gradual  degradation  of  the 
mouth-parts  in  this  group  indicates  that  the  appendages  in  these  animals  are  not 
formed  on  an  independent  type,  intermediate,  so  to  speak,  between  the  mandibulate 
and  haustellate  types,  but  are  simply  a  modification  (through  disuse)  of  the  man- 
dibulate type  as  seen  in  Neuropterous  insects. 


158.  Larva  of  Forflcula. 


MOUTH-PARTS   OF  TOMOCERUS.  137 

guess-work,  can  identify  as  jaws  and  maxillae,  and  labium. 
But  in  studying  the  parts  rendered  transparent,  we  can  identify 
the  different  appendages.  Figure  159  shows  the  common  Tomo- 
cerus  plumbeus  greatly  enlarged  (Fig.  160,  seen  from  above), 
and  as  the  mouth-parts  of  the  whole  group  of  Poduras  are 
remarkably  constant,  a  description  of  one  genus  will  suffice  for 
all.  The  labrum,  or  upper  lip,  is  separated  by  a  deep  suture 
from  the  clypeus,  and  is  trapezoidal  in  form.  The  mandibles 
and  maxillae  are  long  and  slender,  and  buried  in  the  head,  with 
the  tips  capable  of  being  extended  out  from  the  ring  surround- 
ing the  mouth  for  a  very  short  distance.  The  mandibles  (md, 
Fig.  159)  are  like  those  of  the  Neuroptera,  Orthoptera  and 
Coleoptera  in  their  general  form,  the  tip  ending  in  from  three 
to  six  teeth  (three  on  one  mandible  and  six  on  the  other),  while 
below,  is  a  rough,  denticulated  molar  surface,  where  the  food 
seized  by  the  terminal  teeth  is  triturated  and  prepared  to  be 
swallowed.  Just  behind  the  mandibles  are  the  maxillae,  which 
are  trilobate  at  the  end,  as  in  the  three  orders  of  insects  above 
named.  The  outer  lobe,  or  palpus,  is  a  minute  membranous 
tubercle  ending  in  a  hair  (Fig.  161,  mp),  while  the  middle  lobe, 
or  galea,  is  nearly  obsolete,  though  I  think  I  have  seen  it  in 
Smynthurus,  where  it  forms  a  lobe  on  the  outside  of  the  lacinia. 
The  lacinia,  or  inner  lobe  (Fig.  161,  Ic;  162,  the  same  enlarged), 
in  Tomocerus  consists  of  two  bundles  of  spinules,  one  broad 
like  a  ruffle,  and  the  other  slender,  pencil-like,  ending  in  an  inner 
row  of  spines,  like  the  spinules  on  the  lacinia  of  the  Japyx  and 
Campodea  and,  more  remotely,  the  laciniae  of  the  three  sub- 
orders of  insects  above  referred  to.  There  is  also  a  horny, 
prominent,  three-toothed  portion  (Fig.  161,  gr).  These  homol- 
ogies  have  never  been  made  before,  so  far  as  the  writer  is 
aware,  but  they  seem  natural,  and  suggested  by  a  careful  exam- 
ination and  comparison  with  the  above-mentioned  mandibulate 
insects. 

'The  spring  consists  of  a  pair  of  three-jointed  appendages, 
with  the  basal  joints  soldered  together  early  in  embryonic  life, 
while  the  other  two  joints  are  free,  forming  a  fork.  It  is  longest 
in  Smynthurus  and  Degeeria,  and  shortest  in  Achorutes  (Fig. 
172,  6),  where  it  forms  a  simple,  forked  tubercle;  and  is  obsolete 
in  Lipura  and  Anura,  its  place  being  indicated  by  an  oval  scar. 
The  third  joint  varies  in  form,  being  hairy,  serrate  and  knife- 
like  in  form,  as  in  Tomocerus  (Fig.  159,  a),  or  minute,  with  a 


138 


BHISTLE-TAILS  AND    SPRING-TAILS. 


159. 


160. 


162. 


Tomocerus  plnmbeus  and  mouth-parts,  greatly  enlarged. 


OVIPOSITOR   OF  ACHORUTES.  139 

supplementary  tooth,  as  in  Achorutes  (Fig.  172,  c).  This  spring 
is  in  part  homologous  with  the  ovipositor  of  the  higher  insects, 
which  originally  consists  of  three  pairs  of  tubercles,  each  pair 
arising  apparently  from  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  (the  lat- 
ter the  penultimate)  segments  of  the  abdomen  in  the  Hymenop- 
tera.  The  spring  of  the  Podura  seems  to  be  the  homologue  of 
the  third  pair  of  these  tubercles,  and  is  inserted  on  the  penulti- 
mate segment.  This  comparison  I  have  been  able  to  make  from 
a  study  of  the  embryology  of  Isotoma. 

Another  organ,  and  one  which,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  has  been 
overlooked  by  previous  observers,  I  am  disposed  to  consider  as 
possibly  an  ovipositor.  In  the  genus  Achorutes,  it  may  be  found 
in  the  segment  just  before  the  spring-bearing  segment,  and 
situated  on  the  median  line  of  the  body.  It  consists  (Fig.  163) 
of  two  squarish  valves,  from  between  which 
projects  a  pair  of  minute  tubercles,  or  blades, 
with  four  rounded  teeth  on  the  under  side* 
This  pair  of  infinitesimal  saws  reminds  one  of 
the  blades  of  the  saw-fly,  and  I  am  at  a  loss 
what  their  use  can  be  unless  to  cut  and  pierce 
so  as  to  scoop  out  a  shallow  place  in  which  to 
deposit  an  egg.  It  is  homologous  in  situation 
with  the  middle  pair  of  blades  which  composes 
the  ovipositor  of  higher  insects,  and  if  it  should 
prove  to  be  used  by  the  creature  in  laying  its  lesTcatchliolding 
eggs,  we  should  then  have,  with  the  spring,  an  spring  of  Acho- 
additional  point  of  resemblance  to  the  Neurop- 
tera  and  higher  insects,  and  instead  of  this  spring  being  an 
important  differential  character,  separating  the  Thysauura  from 
other  insects,  it  binds  them  still  closer,  though  still  differ- 
ing greatly  in  representing  only  a  part  of  the  ovipositor  of  the 
higher  insects.  (This  is  a  catch  for  holding  the  spring  in  place.) 

But  all  the  Poduras  differ  from  other  insects  in  possessing  a 
remarkable  organ  situated  on  the  basal  segment  of  the  abdo- 
men. It  is  a  small  tubercle,  with  chitinous  walls,  forming  two 
valves  from  between  which  is  forced  out  a  fleshy  sucker,  or,  as 
in  Smynthurus,  a  pair  of  long  tubes,  which  are  capable  of  being 
darted  out  on  each  side  of  the  body,  enabling  the  insect  to 
attach  itself  to  smooth  surfaces,  and  rest  in  an  inverted  position. 

The  eggs  are  laid  few  in  number,  either  singly  or  several 
together,  on  the  under  side  of  stones,  chips  or,  as  in  the  case 


T40 


BRISTLE-TAILS   AND   SPRING-TAILS. 


of  Isotoma  Walkerii,  under  the  bark  of  trees.  They  are  round, 
transparent.  The  development  of  the  embryo  of  Isotoma  in 
general  accords  with  that  of  the  Phryganeidae  and  suggests  on 
embryological  grounds  the  near  relationship  of  the  Thysanura 
to  the  Neuroptera. 

The  earliest  stage  observed  was  at  the  time  of  the  appearance 
of  the  primitive  band  (Fig.  164,  a,  6,  folding  of  the  primitive 


Development  of  a  Poduran. 

band ;  c,  the  dotted  line  crosses  the  primitive  band,  and  terminates 
in  a  large  yolk  granule)  which  surrounds  the  egg  as  in  the  Caddis 
flies.  Soon  after,  the  primitive  segments  appear  (Fig.  165;  1, 
antennae ;  2,  mandibles ;  3,  maxillae  ;  the  labium  was  not  seen ;  5-7, 
legs ;  c,  yolk  surrounded  by  the  primitive  band)  and  seem  to  orig- 
inate just  as  in  the  Caddis  flies.  Figure  166  is  a  front  view  of 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   A   PODURID.  141 

the  embryo  shortly  before  it  is  hatched ;  figure  167,  side  view  of 
the  same,  the  figures  as  in  Fig.  165;  sp,  spring;  I,  labrum.  The 
labrum  or  upper  lip,  and  the  clypeus  are  large  and  as  distinct  as 
in  the  embryos  of  other  insects,  a  fact  to  which  we  shall  allude 
again.  The  large  three-jointed  spring  is  now  well  developed, 
and  the  inference  is  drawn  that  it  represents  a  pair  of  true 
abdominal  legs.  The  embryo  when  about  to  hatch  throws  off 
the  egg-shell  and  amnion  in  a  few  seconds.  The  larva  is  per- 
fectly white  and  is  very  active  in  its  movements,  running  over 
the  damp,  inner  surface  of  the  bark.  It  is  a  little  over  a  hun- 
dredth of  an  inch  in  length,  and  differs  from  the  adult  in  being 
shorter  and  thicker,  with  the  spring  very  short  and  stout.  In 
fact  the  larva  assumes  the  form  of  the  lower  genera  of  the 
family,  such  as  Achorutes  and  Lipura,  the  adult  more  closely 
resembling  Degeeria.  The  larva  after  its  first  moult  retains 
its  early  clumsy  form,  and  is  still  white.  After  a  second  moult 
it  becomes  purplish,  and  much  more  slender,  as  in  the  adult. 
The  eggs  are  laid  and  the  young  hatched  apparently  within  a 
period  of  from  six  to  ten  days. 

Returning  to  the  stage  indicated  by  figures  166  and  167,  I  am 
induced  to  quote  some  remarks  published  in  the  Memoirs  of 
the  Peabody  Academy  of  Science,  No.  2,  p.  18,  which  seem  to 
support  the  view  that  these  insects  are  offshoots  from  the  Neu- 
roptera. 

"The  front  of  the  head  is  so  entirely  different  from  what  it  is 
in  the  adult,  that  certain  points  demand  our  attention.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  at  this  period  the  development  of  the  insect  has  gone 
on  in  all  important  particulars  much  as  in  other  insects,  espe- 
cially the  Neuropterous  Mystacides  as  described  by  Zaddach. 
The  head  is  longer  vertically  than  horizontally,  the  frontal,  or 
clypeal  region  is  broad,  and  greater  in  extent  than  the  epicra- 
nio-occipital  region.  The  antenna  are  inserted  high  up  on  the 
head,  next  the  ocelli,  falling  down  over  the  clypeal  region. 
The  clypeus,  however,  is  merged  with  the  epicranium,  and  the 
usual  suture  between  them  does  not  appear  distinctly  in  after 
life,  though  its  place  is  seen  in  figure  167  to  be  indicated  by  a 
slight  indentation.  The  labrum  is  distinctly  defined  by  a  well 
marked  suture,  and  forms  a  squarish,  knob-like  protuberance, 
and  in  size  is  quite  large  compared  to  the  clypeus.  From  this 
time  begins  the  process  of  degradation,  when  the  insect  assumes 
its  Thysanurous  characters,  which  consist  in  an  approach  to  the 


142  BRISTLE-TAILS   AND   SPRING-TAILS. 

form  of  the  Myriopodous  head,  the  front,  or  clypeal  region 
being  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  th,e  antennae  and  eyes  brought 
in  closer  proximity  to  the  mouth  than  in  any  other  insects." 

Sir  John  Lubbock  has  given  us  an  admirable  account  of  the 
internal  anatomy  of  these  little  creatures,  his  elaborate  and 
patient  dissections  filling  a  great  gap  in  our  knowledge  of  their 
internal  structure.  The  space  at  our  disposal  only  permits  us 
to  speak  briefly  of  the  respiratory  system.  Lnbbock  found  a 
simple  system  of  trachea?  in  Smynthurus  which  opens  by  "two 
spiracles  in  the  head,  opposite  the  insertion  of  the  antenna^"  i. 
e.,  on  the  back  of  the  head.  (Von  Olfers  says  that  they  open  on 
the  prothorax.)  Nicolet  and  Olfers  claim  to  have  found  tracheae 
in  several  lower  genera  (Orchesella,  Tomocerus,  and  Achorutes 
and  allied  genera),  but  Lubbock  was  unable  to  detect  them,  and 
I  may  add  that  I  have  not  yet  been  able  after  careful  search  to 
find  them  either  in  living  specimens,  or  those  rendered  trans- 
parent by  potash. 

Having  given  a  hasty  sketch  of  the  external  aspect  of  the 
Poduras,  I  extract  from  Lubbock's  work  a  synopsis  of  the  fam- 
ilies and  genera  for  the  convenience  of  the  student,  adding  the 
names  of  known  American  species,  or  indications  of  unde- 
scribed  native  forms. 

SMYNTHURID^K. — Body  globular  or  ovoid ;  thorax  and  abdomen 
forming  one  mass ;  head  vertical  or  inclined ;  antennas  of  four 
or  eight  segments.  Eyes  eight  on  each  side,  on  the  top  of  the 
head.  Legs  long  and  slender.  Saltatory  appendage  with  a 
supplementary  segment. 

Smynthurus.  Antennas  four-jointed,  bent  at  the  insertion 
of  the  fourth,  which  is  nearly  as  long  as  the  other  three,  and 
appears  to  consist  of  many  small  segments.  No  conspicuous 
dorsal  tubercles.  (In  this  country  Fitch  has  described  five  spe- 
cies :  S.  arvalis,  elegans,  hortensis,  Novaeboracensis,  and  signi- 
fer.  Figure  156  represents  a  species  found  in  Maine.) 

Dicyrtoma.  Antennae  eight-jointed,  five  before,  three  after 
the  bend.  Two  dorsal  tubercles  on  the  abdomen. 

Papirius.*      Antennae    four-jointed,    without    a    well-marked 


*  Lnbbock  considers  that  Papirius  should  be  placed  in  a  distinct  family  from 
Smyuthurus,  because  it  wants  tracheae.  Their  presence  or  absence  scarcely  seems 
to  us  to  be  a  family  character,  as  thpy  are  wanting  in  the  Poduridae,  and  are  not 
essential  to  the  life  of  these  animals,  while  in  other  respects  Papirius  seems  to 
differ  but  slightly  from  Smynthurus. 


PODURIDS. 


143 


elbow,  and  with  a  short  terminal  segment  offering  the  appear- 
ance of  being  many -jointed. 

PODURID^E. — This  family  comprises  those  species  of  the  old 
genus  Podura,  in  which  the  mouth  has  mandibles  [also  maxilla3 
and  a  labium],  and  the  body  is  elongated,  with  a  more  or  less 
developed  saltatory  appendage  at  the  posterior  extremity. 

Orchesella.  Segments  of  the  body  unequal  in  size,  more  or 
less  thickly  clothed  with  clubbed  hairs.  Antennae  long,  six- 
jointed.  Eyes  six  in  number  on  each  side,  arranged  in  the 
form  of  an  S.  (One  or  two  beautiful  species  live  about  Salem.) 

Degeeria.     Segments  of  the   body  unequal  in  size,  more  or 
less  thickly  clothed  by  clubbed  hairs.     Antennae  longer  than  the 
head  and  thorax,  filiform,  four-jointed.    Eyes 
eight  in  number  on   each  side  of  the  head. 
(Two  species,  Degeeria  decem-fasciata,  PL 
10,  Figs.  2,  3,  and  D.  purpurascens,  Figs.  4,  5, 
are  figured   in  the  "Guide  to   the    Study  of 
Insects."      Figure    168    represents  a  species 
found   in   Salem,  Mass.,  closely  allied  to  the 
European  D.  nivalis.    Five  species  are  already 
known  in  New  England.) 

Seira.  Body  covered  with  scales.  Antennas 
four-jointed;  terminal  segment  not  ringed. 
Eyes  on  a  dark  patch.  Thorax  not  projecting 
over  the  head.  Abdominal  segments  unequal. 

Templetonia.  Segments  of  the  body  sube- 
qual,  clothed  by  clubbed  hairs,  and  provided 
with  scales.  Antennae  longer  than  the  head 
and  thorax,  five-jointed,  with  a  small  basal 
segment,  and  with  the  terminal  portion  ringed. 

Isotoma.  Four  anterior  abdominal  segments  subequal,  two 
posterior  ones  small;  body  clothed  with  simple  hairs  and  with- 
out scales.  Antenna}  four-jointed,  longer  than  the  head ;  seg- 
ments subequa'l.  Eyes  seven  in  number  on  each  side,  arranged 
in  the  form  of  an  S.  (Three  species  are  found  in  Massachu- 
setts, one  of  which  (I.  plumbea)  is  figured  on  PI.  10,  Figs.  6,  7, 
of  the  "Guide  to  the  Study  of  Insects,"  third  edition.) 

Tomocerus.  Abdominal  segments  unequal,  with  simple  hairs 
and  scales.  Antennae  very  long,  four-jointed,  the  two  terminal 
segments  ringed.  Eyes  seven  in  number  on  each  side.  (The 
European  T.  plumbea,  Podura  plumbea  of  authors,  is  our  spe- 


168.  Degeeria. 


144 


BRISTLE-TAILS  AND  SPRING-TAILS. 


cies,  and  is  common.  Fig.  160,  greatly  enlarged,  copied  from 
Templeton;  Fig.  159,  side  view,  see  also  Fig.  161,  where  the 
mouth-parts  are  greatly  enlarged,  the  lettering  being  the  same, 
md,  mandibles ;  mx,  maxillae ;  mp,  maxillary  palpus ;  lb,  labium ; 


169.  Scales  of  Tomocerus. 


171.  Scale  of  Lepidocyrtus. 


Ip,  labial  palpus ;  Zc,  lacinia ;  g,  portion  ending  in  three  teeth ;  I, 
lobe  of  labium ;  sp,  ventral  sucking  disk ;  the  dotted  lines  passing 
through  the  body  represent  the  course  of  the  intestine;  b,  end 
of  tibia,  showing  the  tarsus,  with  the  claw,  and  two  accessory 

spines ;  a,  third  joint  of  the  spring. 
Fig.  162,  lacinia  of  maxilla  greatly 
enlarged.  Fig.  169,  different  forms 
of  scales,  showing  the  great  vari- 
ation in  size  and  form,  the  narrow 
ones  running  into  a  linear  form, 
becoming  hairs.  The  "markings 
are  also  seen  to  vary,  showing 
their  unreliable  character  as  test 
objects,  unless  a  single  scale  is 
kept  for  use.) 

Lepidocyrtus.  Abdominal  seg- 
ment unequal,  with  simple  hairs 
and  scales.  Antennae  long,  four- 
jointed.  Eyes  eight  in  number 
on  each  side.  (Fig.  170,  L.  albi- 
nos, an  European  species,  from  Hardwicke's  "Science  Gossip." 
Fig.  171,  a  scale.  Two  species  live  in  New  England.) 

Podura.     Abdominal  segments  subequal.      Hairs  simple,  no 
scales.     Antennae  four-jointed,  shorter  than  the  head.     Eyes 


170.  Lepidocyrtus. 


ACHORUTES. 


145 


eight  in  number  on  each  side.  Saltatory  appendage  of  moderate 
length. 

Achorutes.  Abdominal  segments  subequal.  Antennae  short, 
four-jointed.  Eyes  eight  in  number  on  each  side.  Saltatory 
appendage  quite  short. 

Figure  172  represents  a  species  of  this  genus  very  abundant 
under  the  bark  of  trees,  etc.,  in  New  England.  It  is  of  a  blackish 
lead  color ;  a,  end  of  tibia  bearing  a  tenant  hair,  with  the  tarsal 
joint  and  large  claw;  Z>,  spring;  c,  the  third  joint  of  the  spring, 
with  the  little  spine  at  the  base ;  figure  163,  the  supposed  ovi- 


172.  Achorutes. 


173.  Lipura  fimetaria. 


positor;  «,  the  two  blades  spread  apart;   6, 'side  view.      The 
mouth-parts  in  this  genus  are  much  as  in  Tomocerus,  the  max-' 
illse  ending  in  a  lacinia  and  palpus. 

The  three  remaining  genera,  Lipura,  Anurida  and  Anura,  are 
placed  in  the  "family"  Lipuridae,  which  have  no  spring.  Lub- 
bock  remarks  that  "this  family  contains  as  yet  only  two* 
genera,  Lipura  (Burmeister),  in  which  the  mouth  is  composed 
of  the  same  parts  as  those  in  the  preceding  genera,  and  Anura 
(Gervais),  in  which  the  mandibles  and  maxillae  disappear."  Our 


*Dr.  Labonlbene  has  recently,  and  we  think  with  good  reason,  separated  Anura 
maritima  from  the  genus  Anura,  under  the  name  of  Anurida  maritima. 
13 


146 


BRISTLE-TAILS   AND   SPRING-TAILS. 


common  white  Lipura  is  the  European  L.  fimetaria  Linn.  (Fig. 
173,  copied  from  Lubbock).  The  site  of  the  spring  is  indicated 
by  an  oval  scar. 

Figure  174  represents  Anurida  maritima  found  under  stones 
between  tide  marks  at  Nantucket.  It  is  regarded  the  same  as 
the  European  species  by  Lubbock,  to  whom  I  had  sent  specimens 
for  comparison.  This  genus  differs  in  the  form  of  the  head 


175. 


Amirida.maritima. 


from  Lipura  and  also  wants  the  terminal  upcurved  spines,  while 
the  antennas  are  much  more  pointed.  The  legs  (Fig.  175) 
end  in  a  large,  long,  curved  claw.  On  examining  specimens 
soaked  in  potash,  I  have  found  that  the  mouth-parts  of  this 
species  (Fig.  176,  md,  mandibles;  mx,  maxillae;  e,  eyes,  and  a 
singular  accessory  group  of  small  cells,  are  like  those  of  Acho- 
rutes,  as  previously  noticed  by  Laboulbene.  The  mandibles, 
like  those  of  other  Poduras,  end  in  from  three  to  six  teeth,  and 


COLLECTING   PODURIDS.  147 

have  a  broad,  many-toothed  molar  surface  below.  The  maxillae 
end  in  a  tridentate  lacinia  as  usual,  though  the  palpi  and  galea 
I  have  not  yet  studied. 

The  genus  Anura  may  be  readily  recognized  by  the  mouth 
ending  in  an  acutely  conical  beak,  with  its  end  quite  free  from 
the  head  and  hanging  down  beneath  it.  The  body  is  short  and 
broad,  much  tuberculated,  while  the  antenna3  are  short  and 
pointed,  and  the  legs  are  much  shorter  than  in  Lipura,  not 
reaching  more  than  a  third  of  their  length  beyond  the  bod}'. 
Our  common  form  occurs  under  the  bark  of  trees. 

For  the  reason  that  I  can  find  no  valid  characters  for  separa- 
ting these  three  genera  as  a  family  from  the  other  Poduras,  I 
am  inclined  to  think  that  they  form,  by  the  absence  of  the 
spring,  only  a  subdivision  (perhaps  a  subfamily)  of  the  Podu- 
ridse. 

The  best  way  to  collect  Poduras  is,  on  turning  up  the  stick  or 
stone  on  the  under  side  of  which  they  live,  to  place  a  vial  over 
them,  allowing  them  to  leap  into  it;  they  may  be  incited  to  leap 
by  pushing  a  needle  under  the  vial.  They  may  also  be  col- 
lected by  a  bottle  with  a  sponge  saturated  with  ether  or  chloro- 
form. They  may  be  kept  alive  for  weeks  by  keeping  moist 
slips  of  blotting  paper  in  the  vial.  In  this  way  I  have  kept 
specimens  of  Degeeria,  Tomocerus  and  Orchesella,  from  the 
middle  of  December  till  late  in  January.  During  this  time 
they  occasionally  moulted,  and  Tomocerus  plumbeus,  after  shed- 
ding its  skin,  ate  it  within  a  few  hours.  Poduras  feed  ordinarily 
on  vegetable  matter,  such  as  dead  leaves  and  growing  crypto- 
gamic  vegetation.  These  little  creatures  can  be  easily  preserved 
in  a  mixture  of  alcohol  and  glycerine,  or  pure  alcohol,  though 
without  the  glycerine  the  colors  fade. 

We  have  entered  more  fully  in  this  chapter  into  the  details  of 
structure  than  heretofore,  too  much  so,  perhaps,  for  the  patience 
of  our  readers.  But  the  study  of  the  Poduras  possesses  the 
liveliest  interest,  since  these  lowest  of  all  the  six-footed  insects 
may  have  been  among  the  earliest  land  animals,  and  hence  to 
them  we  may  look  with  more  or  less  success  for  the  primitive, 
ancestral  forms  of  insect  life. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


HINTS    ON    THE    ANCESTRY    OF    INSECTS. 

THOUGH  our  course  through  the  different  groups  of  insects 
may  have  seemed  rambling  and  desultory  enough,  and  pursued 
with  slight  reference  to  a  natural  classification  of  the  insects  of 
which  we  have  spoken,  yet  beginning  with  the  Hive  bee,  the 
highest  intelligence  in  the  vast  world  of  insects,  we  have  gradu- 
ally, though  with  many  a  sudden 
step,  descended  to  perhaps  the 
most  lowly  organized  forms 
among  all  the  insects,  the  para- 
sitic mites.  While  the  Demodex 
is  probably  the  humblest  in  its 
organization  of  any  of  the  insects 
we  have  treated  of,  there  is  still 
another  mite,  which  some  emi- 
nent naturalists  continue  to  re- 
gard as  a  worm,  which  is  yet  lower 
in  the  scale.  This  is  the  Pentas- 
toma  (Fig.  177,  P.  tsenioides;, 
which  lives  in  the  manner  of  the 
tape  worm  a  parasitic  life  in  the 
higher  animals,  though  instead  of 
inhabiting  the  alimentary  canal, 
the  worm-like  mite  takes  up  its 
abode  in  the  nostrils  and  frontal 
sinus  of  dogs-  and  sheep,  and  sometimes  of  the  horse.  At  first, 
however,  it  is  found  in  the  liver  or  lungs  of  various,  animals, 
sometimes  in  man.  It  is  then  in  the  earliest  or  larval  state,  and 
assumes  its  true  mite  form,  being  oval  in  shape,  with  minute 
horny  jaws  adapted  for  boring,  and  with  two  pairs  of  legs  armed 
(148) 


177.  Pentastoma. 


178.  Centipede. 


COMMUNITY   OF  PLAN   IN  INSECTS. 


149 


with  sharp  retractile  claws.  Such  an  animal  as  this  is  little 
higher  than  some  worms,  and  indeed  is  lower  than  many  of  them. 

We  should  also  not  pass  over  in  silence  the  Centipedes  (Fig. 
178,  Scolopocryptops  sexspinosa)  and  Galley  worms,  or  Thou- 
sand legs  and  their  allies  (Myriopods),  which  by  their  long 
slender  bodies,  and  great  number  of  segments  and  feet,  vaguely 
recall  the  worms.  But  they,  with  the  mites,  are  true  insects,  as 
they  are  born  with  only  three  pairs  of  feet,  as  are  the  mites  and 
ticks,  and  breathe  by  tracheae;  and  thus  a  common  plan  of 
structure  underlies  the  entire  class  of  insects. 

A  very  strange  Myriopod  has  been  discovered  by  Sir  John 


179.  Young  Pauvopus.  180.  Spring-tail.  i81.  young  Juhls. 

Lubbock  in  Europe,  and  we  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  find 
a  species  in  this  country.  It  is  the  Pauropus.  It  consists,  when 
fully  grown,  of  nine  segments,  exclusive  of  the  head,  bearing 
nine  pairs  of  feet.  The  young  of  Pauropus  (Fig.  179)  is  born 
with  three  pairs  of  feet,  and  in  its  general  appearance  reminds 
us  of  a  spring-tail  (Fig.  180)  as  may  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the 
cut.  This  six-legged  form  of  Pauropus  may  also  be  compared 
with  the  young  galley  worm  (Fig.  181). 

Passing  to  the  group  of  spiders  and  mites,  we  find  that  the 
young  mites  when  first  hatched  have  but  three  pairs  of  feet, 
while  their  parents  have  four,  like  the  spiders.  Figure  182 


150 


HINTS  ON  THE  ANCESTRY  OF  INSECTS. 


represents  the  larva  (Leptus)  of  the  red  garden  mites ;  while  a 
figure  of  the  "water  bear,"  or  Tardigrade  (Fig.  183),  is  intro- 
duced to  compare  with  it,  as  it  bears  a  resemblance  to  the 
young  of  the  mites,  though  their  young  are  born 
with  their  full  complement  of  legs,  an  exception 
to  their  nearest  allies,  the  true  mites.  Now  if 
we  compare  these  early  stages  of  mites  and 
myriopods  with  those  of  the  true  six- footed 
insects,  as  in  the  larval  Meloe,  Cicada,  Thrips 
and  Dragon  fly,  we  shall  see  quite  plainly  that 
they  all  share  a  common  form.  What  does  this 
mean  ?  To  the  systematist  who  concerns  him-  182'  LePtus- 
self  with  the  classification  of  the  myriads  of  different  insects 
now  living,  it  is  a  relief  to  find  that  all  can  be  reduced  to  the 
comparatively  simple  forms  sketched 
above.  It  is^to  him  a  proof  of  the 
unity  of  organization  pervading  the 
world  of  insects.  He  sees  how  nature, 
seizing  upon  this  archetypal  form  has, 
by  simple  modifications  of  parts  here 
and  there,  by  the  addition  of  wings  and 
other  organs  wanting  in  these  simple 

S)       y  \  j  ^-j  ,;r-v  creatures,    rung    numberless    changes 

s/'  !  y\   \  J)^.     in  tllis  elemental  form.     And  starting 

r/  /-~x  I  /  T^*^  from  the  simplest  kinds,  such  as  the 
Poduras,  Spiders,  Grasshoppers  and 
May  flies,  allied  creatures  which  we 
now  know  were  the  first  to  appear  in 
the  earlier  geologic  ages,  we  rise  to 
the  highest,  the  bees  with  their  com- 
plex forms,  their  diversified  economy 
and  wonderful  instincts.  In  ascending 
this  scale  of  being,  while  there  is  a 
progress  upwards,  the  beetles,  for  in- 
stance, being  higher  than  the  bugs  and 
grasshoppers ;  and  the  butterflies  and  moths,  on  the  whole, 
being  more  highly  organized  than  the  flies  ;  and  while  we  see  the 
hymenopterous  saw-flies,  with  their  Iarva3  mimicking  so  closely 
the  caterpillars  of  the  butterflies,  in  the  progress  from  the  saw- 
flies  up  to  the  bees  we  behold  a  gradual  loss  of  the  lower 
saw-fly  characters  in  the  Cynips  and  Chalcid  flies,  and  see  in 


183.  Tardigrade. 


THE  ARCHETYPAL  AN   ANCESTRAL  FORM.  151 

the  sand- wasps  and  true  wasps  a  constant  and  accelerating  like- 
ness to  the  bee  form.  Yet  this  continuity  of  improving  organi- 
zations is  often  broken,  and  we  often  see  insects  which  recall 
the  earlier  and  more  elementary  forms. 

Again,  going  back  of  the  larval  period,  and  studying  the  in- 
sect in  the  egg,  we  find  that  nearly  all  the  insects  yet  observed 
agree  most  strikingly  in  their  mode  of  growth,  so  that,  for 
instance,  the  earlier  stages  of  the  germ  of  a  bee,  fly  or  beetle, 
bear  a  remarkable  resemblance  to  each  other,  and  suggest  again, 
more  forcibly  than  when  we  examine  the  larval  condition,  that 
a  common  design  or  pattern  at  first  pervades  all.  In  the  light 
of  the  studies  of  Von  Baer,  of  Lamarck  and  Darwin,  should  we 
be  content  to  stop  here,  or  does  this  ideal  archetype  become 
endowed  with  life  and 
have  a  definite  exis- 
tence, becoming  the 
ancestral  form  of  all 
insects,  the  prototype 
which  gave  birth  to 
the  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  insect  forms 
which  are  now  spread 
over  our  globe,  just 
as  we  see  daily  hap- 
pens where  a  single 
aphis  may  become  the  m-  Male  Stylops. 

progenitor  of  a  million  offspring  clustering  on  the  same  tree? 
Is  there  not  something  more  than  analogy  in  the  two  things,  and 
is  not  the  same  life-giving  force  that  evolves  a  million  young 
Aphides  from  the  germ  stock  of  a  single  Aphis  in  a  single  sea- 
son, the  same  in  kind  with  the  production  of  the  living  races 
of  insects  from  a  primeval  ancestor?  When  we  see  the  Aphis 
giving  origin  in  one  season  to  successive  generations,  the  indi- 
viduals of  which  may  be  counted  by  the  million,  it  is  no  less 
mysterious  than  that  other  succession  of  forms  of  insect  life 
which  has  peopled  the  globe  during  the  successive  chapters  of 
its  history.  While  we  see  in  one  case  the  origin  of  individual 
forms,  and  cannot  explain  what  it  is  that  starts  the  life  in  the 
germ  and  so  unerringly  guides  the  course  of  the  growing  em- 
-bryo,  it  is  illogical  to  deny  that  the  same  life-giving  force  is 
concerned  in  the  production  of  specific  and  generic  forms. 


152 


HINTS   ON  THE  ANCESTRY   OF  INSECTS. 


Who  can  explain  the  origin  of  the  sexes  ?  What  is  the  cause 
that  determines  that  one  individual  in  a  brood  of  Stylops,  for 
example  (Fig.  184,  male;  Fig.  185,  grub-like  female  in  the  body 
of  its  host),  shall  be  but  a  grub,  living  as  a  parasite  in  the 
body  of  its  host,  while  its  fellow  shall  be  winged  and  as  free  iu 
its  actions  as  the  most  highly  organized  insect?  It  is  no  less 
mysterious,  because  it  daily  occurs  before  our  eyes.  So  perhaps 
none  the  less  -mysterious,  and  no  more  discordant  with  known 
natural  laws  may  the  law  that  governs  the  origin  of  species 
seem  to  those  who  come  after  us.  Certainly  the  present 
attempts  to  discover  that  law,  however  fatuitous  they  may 
seem  to  many,  are  neither  illogical,  nor,  judging  by  the  impetus 

already  given  to  biology,  or  the 
science  of  life,  labor  altogether 
spent  in  vain.  The  theory  of 
evolution  is  a  powerful  tool, 
when  judiciously  used,  that  must 
eventually  wrest  many  a  secret 
from  the  grasp  of  nature. 

But  whether  true  or  unproved, 
the  theory  of  evolution  in  some 
shape  has  actually  been  adopted 
by  the  large  proportion  of  natu- 
ralists, who  find  it  indispensable 
in  their  researches,  and  it-will  be 
used  until  found  inadequate  to 
explain  facts.  Notwithstanding 
the  present  distrust,  and  even 
185.  Female  Stylops.  fear,  with  which  it  js  received 

by  many,  we  doubt  not  but  that  in  comparatively  few  years  all 
will  acknowledge  that  the  theory  of  evolution  will  be  to  biology 
what  the  nebular  hypothesis  is  to  geology,  or  the  atomic  theory 
is  to  chemistry.  While  the  evolution  theory  is  as  yet  imperfect, 
and  many  objections,  some  seemingly  insuperable,  can  be  raised 
against  it,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  nebular  hypoth- 
esis is  still  comparatively  crude  and  unsatisfactory,  though 
indispensable  as  a  working  theory  to  the  geologist;  and  in 
chemistry,  though  the  atomic  theory  may  not  be  satisfactorily 
demonstrated  to  some  minds  until  an  atom  is  actually  brought 
to  sight,  it  is  yet  invaluable  in  research. 
Many  short  sighted  persons  complain  that  such  a  theory  sets 


THE  THEORY   OF  EVOLUTION  FOUNDED  IN  NATURE.          153 

in  the  back-ground  the  idea  of  a  personal  Creator ;  but  minds  no 
less  devout,  and  perhaps  a  trifle  more  thoughtful,  see  the  hand 
of  a  Creator  not  less  in  the  evolution  of  plants  and  animals  from 
preexistent  forms,  through  natural  laws,  than  in  the  evolution 
of  a  summer's  shower,  through  the  laws  discovered  by  the 
meteorologist,  who  looks  back  through  myriads  of  ages  to  the 
causes  that  led  to  the  distribution  of  mountain  chains,  ocean 
currents  and  trade  winds,  which  combine  to  produce  the  neces- 
sary conditions  resulting  in  that  shower. 

Indeed,  to  the  student  of  nature,  the  evolution  theory  in  biol- 
ogy, with  the  nebular  hypothesis,  and  the  grand  law  in  physics 
of  the  correlation  of  forces,  all  interdependent,  and  revealing 
to  us  the  mode  in  which  the  Creator  of  the  Universe  works 
in  the  world  of  matter,  together  form  an  immeasurably  grander 
conception  of  the  order  of  creation  and  its  Ordainer,  than  was 
possible  for  us  to  form  before  these  laws  were  discovered  and 
put  to  practical  use.  We  may  be  allowed,  then,  in  a  reverent 
spirit  of  inquiry,  to  attempt  to  trace  the  ancestry  of  the  insects, 
and  without  arriving,  perhaps,  at  any  certain  result,  for  it  is 
largely  a  matter  of  speculation,  point  out  certain  .facts,  the 
thoughtful  consideration  of  which  may  throw  light  on  this 
difficult  and  embarrassing  question. 

Without  much  doubt  the  Poduras  are  the  lowest  of  the  six- 
footed  insects.  They  are  more  embryonic  in  their  appearance 
than  others,  as  seen  in  the  large  size  of  the  head  compared  with 
the  rest  of  the  body,  the  large,  clumsy  legs,  and  the  equality  in. 
the  size  of  the  several  segments  composing  the  body.  In  other 
characters,  such  as  the  want  of  compound  eyes,  the  absence  of 
wings,  the  absence  of  a  complete  ovipositor,  and  the  occasional 
want  of  tracheae,  they  stand  at  the  base  of  the  insect  series.  That 
they  are  true  insects,  however,  we  endeavored  to  show  in  the  pre- 
vious chapter,  and  that  they  are  neuropterous,  we  think  is  most 
probable,  since  not  only  in  the  structure  of  the  insect  after  birth 
do  they  agree  with  the  larva?  of  certain  neuropters,  but,  as  we 
have  shown  in  another  place  *  in  comparing  the  development  of 
Isotoma,  a  Poduran,  with  that  of  a  species  of  Caddis  fly,  the 
correspondence  throughout  the  different  embryological  stages, 
nearly  up  to  the  time  of  hatching,  is  very  striking.  And  it  is  a 


*  Memoirs  of  the  Peabody  Academy  of  Science,  II.    Embryological  Studies  on 
Diplax,  Peritheinis,  and  the  Tliysuuurus  genus  Isotoma.    Saleiu,  1871. 


154 


HINTS   ON    THE  ANCESTRY   OF  INSECTS. 


remarkable  fact,  as  Kwe  have  previously  noticed,  that  when  it 
begins  to  differ  from  the  Caddis  fly  embryo,  it  begins  to  assume 
the  Poduran  characters,  and  its  development  consequently  in 
some  degree  retrogrades,  just  as 
in  the  lice  previous  to  hatching, 
as  we  have  shown  in  a  previous 
chapter,  so  that  I  think  we  are 
warranted  at  present  in  regarding 
the  Thysanura,  and  especially  the 
family  of  Podurids  as  degraded 
neuropters.  Consequently  the  Po- 
duras  did  not  have  ah  independent  18G-  Embryo  of  Diplax. 
origin  and  do  not,  perhaps,  represent  a  distinct  branch  of  the 
genealogical  tree  of  articulates.  While  the  Poduras  may  be  said 
to  form  a  specialized  type,  the  Bristle-tails  (Lepisma,  Machilis, 

Nicoletia  and  Campodea)  are,  as 
we  have  seen,  much  more  highly 
organized,  and  form  a  generalized 
or  comprehensive  type.  They  re- 
semble in  their  general  form  the 
larva  of  Ephemerids,  and  perhaps 
more  closely  the  immature  Perla, 
and  also  the  wingless  cockroaches. 
Now  such  forms  as  these  Thysa- 
nura, together  with  the  mites  and 
the  singular  Pauropus,  we  cannot 
avoid  suspecting  to  have  been 
among  the  earliest  to  appear  upon 
]-.yl  the  earth,  and  putting  together  the 
facts,  first,  of  their  low  organiza- 
tion; secondly,  of  their  compre- 
hensive structure,  resembling  the 
larvae  of  other  insects ;  and  thirdly, 
'—am  of  their  probable  great  antiquity, 
we  naturally  look  to  them  as  being 
related  in  form  to  what  we  may 
187.  Embryo  of  Louse.  conceive  to  have  been  the  ancestor 
of  the  class  of  insects.  Not  that  the  animals  mentioned  above 
were  the  actual  ancestors,  but  that  certain  insects  bearing  a 
greater  resemblance  to  them  than  any  others  with  which  We  are 
acquainted,  and  belonging  possibly  to  families  and  orders  now 


dZL 


THE  LEPTUS,    OR   ANCESTRAL  FORM   OF   INSECTS. 


155 


extinct,  were  the  prototypes  and  progenitors  of  the   insects 
now  known. 

Though  the  study  of  the  embryology  of  insects  is  as  yet  in  its 
infancy,  still  with  the  facts  now  in  our  possession  we  can  state 
with  tolerable 'certainty  that  at  first 
the  embryos  of  all  insects  are  re- 
markably alike,  and  the  process  of 
development  is   much  the  same  in 
all,  as  seen  in  the  figure  of  Diplax 
(Fig.  186),  the  louse  (Fig.  187),  the 
spider  (Fig.   188)    and   the   Podura 
(Fig.  189),  and  we  could  give  others 
bearing  the  same  likeness.     We  no- 
tice that  at  a  certain  period  in  the 
life  of  the  embryo  all  agree  in  hav- 
ing the  head  large,  and  bearing  from 
two  to  four  pairs  of  mouth  organs, 
resembling  the  legs ;    the  thorax  is 
merged  in  with   the  abdomen,  and 
the  general  form  of  the  embryo  is         188.  Embryo  of  Spider. 
ovate.      Now  this   general   embryonic  form  characterizes  the 
larva  of  the  mites,  of  the  myriopods  and  of  the  true  insects.     To 
such  a  generalized  embryonic  form  to  which  the  insects  may  be 

referred  as  the  descendants,  we 
would  give  the  name  of  Leptus, 
as  among  Crustacea  the  ances- 
tral form  is  referred  to  Nau- 
plius,  a  larval  form  of  the  lower 
Crustacea,  and  through  which 
the  greater  part  of  the  Crabs, 
Shrimps,  Barnacles,  water  fleas, 
etc.,  pass  to  attain  their  defi- 
nite adult  condition.  A  little 
water  flea  was  described  as  a 
separate  genus,  Nauplius,  before 
it  was  known  to  be  the  larva  of 
a  higher  water  flea,  and  so  also 
Leptns  was  thought  to  be  a 
mature  mite.  Accordingly,we  follow  the  usage  of  certain  natu- 
ralists in  dealing  with  the  Crustacea,  and  propose  for  this  com- 
mon primitive  larval  condition  of  insects  the  term  Leptus. 


189.  Embryo  of  Podura. 


156  HINTS   ON    THE  ANCESTRY   OF  INSECTS. 

The  first  to  discuss  this  subject  of  the  ancestry  of  insects  was 
Fritz  Mttller,  who  in  his  «F(ir  Darwin,"*  published  in  1803,  says, 
at  the  end  of  his  work,  "Having  reached  the  Nauplius,  the 
j  extreme  outpost  of  the  class,  retiring 

farthest  into  the  gray  mist  of  primitive 
time,  we  naturally  look  round  us  to  see 
whether  ways  may  not  be  descried  thence 
towards  other  bordering  regions.  *  *  * 
But  I  can  see  nothing  certain.  Even 
towards  the  nearer  provinces  of  the  Myri- 
opoda  and  Arachnida  I  can  find  no  bridge. 
For  the  Insecta  alone,  the  development 
of  the  Malacostraca  [Crabs,  Lobsters, 
Shrimps,  etc.]  may  perhaps  present  a 
point  of  union.  Like  many  Zoea;,  the 
Insecta  possess  three  pairs  of  limbs 
serving  for  the  reception  of  nourishment, 
and  three  pairs  serving  for  locomotion ; 
like  the  Zoeae  they  have  an  abdomen 
190.  Zoea.  without  appendages ;  as  in  all  Zoese  the 

mandibles  in  Insecta  are  destitute  of  palpi.  Certainly  but  little 
in  common,  compared  with  the  much  which  distinguishes  these 
two  animal  forms.  Nevertheless,  the  supposition  that  the  In- 
secta had  for  their  common  ancestor  a  Zoea  which  raised  itself 
into  a  life  on  land,  may  be  recommended  for  further  examina- 
tion" (p.  140). 

Afterwards  Haeckel  in  his  "Generelle  Morphologic"  (18G6) 
and  "History  of  Creation,"  published  in  1868,  reiterates  the 
notion  that, the  insects  are  derived  from  the  larva  (Zoea,  Fig. 
190)  of  the  crabs,  though  he  is  doubtful  whether  they  did  not 
originate  directly  from  the  worms. f 
It  may  be  said  in  opposition  to  the  view  that  the  insects  came 


*  Translated  in  18G9  by  Mr.  Dallas  under  the  title  "Facts  for  Darwin." 
f'Whether  that  common  stem-form  of  all  the  Tracheata  [Insects,  Myriopods  and 
Spiders]  which  I  have  called  Protracheata  in  my  'General  Morphology'  has  devel- 
oped directly  from  the  true  Annelides  (Coelelminthes),or,  the  next  thing  to  this 
(zunachst),  Qjut  of  Zoea-form  Crustacea  (Zoepoda),  will  be  hereafter  established 
only  through  a  sufficient  knowledge  and  comparison  of  the  structure  and  mode  of 
growth  of  the  Tracheata,  Crustacea  and  Annelides.  In  either  case  is  the  root  of  the 
Tracheata,  as  also  of  the  Crustacea,  to  be  sought  in  the  group  of  the  tme  jointed 
worms  (Annelides,  Gephyrea  and  Rotatoria."  He  considers  the  first  insect  to  have 
appeared  after  the  Silurian  period,  viz.,  in  the  Devonian. 


THE  INSECTS   DERIVED    FROM  THE  WORMS.  157 

originally  from  the  same  early  crustacean  resembling  the  larva 
of  a  crab  or  shrimp,  that  the  differences  between  the  two  types 
are  too  great,  or,  in  other  words,  the  homologies  of  the  two 
classes  too  remote,*  and  the  two  types  are  each  too  specialized 
to  lead  us  to  suppose  that  one  was  derived  from  the  other. 
Moreover,  we  llnd  through  the  researches  of  Messrs.  Hartt  and 
Scudder  that  there  were  highly  developed  insects,  such  as  May 
flies,  grasshoppers,  etc.,  in  the  Devonian  rocks  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, leading  us  to  expect  the  discovery  of  low  insects  even  in 
the  Upper  Silurian  rocks.  At  any  rate  this  discovery  pushes 
buck  the  origin  of  insects  beyond  a  time  when  there  were  true 
Zoea?,  as  the  shrimps  and  their  allies  are  not  actually  known  to 
exist  so  far  back  as  the  Silurian,  not  having  as  j*et  been  found 
below  the  coal  measures. 

The  view  that  the  insects  were  derived  from  a  Zoea  was  also 
sustained  by  Friedrich  Brauer,  the  distinguished  entomologist 
of  Vienna,  in  a  paper f  read  in  March,  18G9.  Following  the 
suggestion  of  Fritz  Miiller  and  Hseckel,  he  derives  the  ancestry 
of  insects  from  the  Zoea  of  crabs  and  shrimps.  However,  he 
regards  the  Podurids  as  the  more  immediate  ancestors  of  the 
true  insects,  selecting  Campodea  as  the  type  of  such  an  ances- 
tral form,  remarking  that  the  "  Campodea-stage  has  for  the 
Insects  and  Myriopods  the  same  value  as  the  Zoea  for  the 
Crustacea."  He  says  nothing  regarding  the  spiders  and  mites. 

At  the  same  time  J  the  writer,  in  criticising  Haeckel's  views 
of  the  derivation  of  insects  from  the  Crustacea  (ignorant  of 
the  fact  that  he  had  also  suggested  that  the  insects  were  possi- 
bly derived  directly  from  the  worms,  and  also  independently  of 
Brauer's  opinions)  declared  his  belief  that  though  it  seemed  pre- 
mature, after  the  discovery  of  highly  organized  winged  insects 

*  The  Zoea  is  born  with  eight  pairs  of  jointed  appendages  belonging  to  the  head, 
and  with  no  thoracic  limbs,  while  in  insects  there  are  but  four  pairs  of  cephalic 
appendages  and  three  pairs  of  legs.  Correlated  with  this  difference  is  the  entirely 
different  mode  of  grouping  the  body  segments,  the  head  and  thorax  being  united 
into  one  region  in  the  crab,  but  separate  in  the  insects,  the  body  being  as  a  rule 
divided  into  a  head,  thorax  and  abdomen,  while  these  regions  are  much  less  dis- 
tinctly marked  in  the  crabs,  and  liable  in  the  different  orders  to  great  variations. 
The  great  differences  between  the  Crustacea  and  insects  are  noticeable  at  an  early 
period  in  the  egg. 

f  Considerations  on  the  Transmutation  of  Insects  in  the  Sense  of  the  Theory  of 
Descent.  Head  before  the  Imperial  Zoological-botanical  Society  in  Vienna,  April 
3, 18C9. 

J  American  Naturalist,  vol.  3,  p.  45.    March,  1869. 
14 


158  HINTS  ON  THE  ANCESTRY  OF  INSECTS. 

in  rocks  so  ancient  as  the  Devonian,  and  with  the  late  discovery 
of  a  land  plant  in  the  Lower  Silurian  rocks  of  Sweden,*  to  even 
guess  as  to  the  ancestry  of  insects,  yet  he  "would  suggest  that, 
instead  of  being  derived  from  some  Zoea,  "the  ancestors  of  the 
insects  (including  the  six-footed  insects,  spiders  and  myriopods) 
must  have  been  worm-like  and  aquatic,  and  when  the  type 
became  terrestrial  we  would  imagine  a  form  somewhat  like  the 
young  Pauropus,  which  combines  in  a  remarkable  degree  the 
characters  of  the  myriopods  and  the  degraded  wingless  insects, 
such  as  the  Smynthurus,  Podura,  etc.  Some  such  forms  may 
have  been  introduced  late  in  the  Silurian  period,  for  the  inter- 
esting discoveries  of  fossil  insects  in  the  Devonian  of  New 
Brunswick,  by  Messrs.  Hartt  and  Scudder,  and  those  discovered 
by  Messrs.  Meek  and  Worthen  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Coal 
Measures  at  Morris,  Illinois;  and  described  by  Mr.  Scudder, 
reveal  carboniferous  myriopods  (two  species  of  Euphorberia) 
more  highly  organized  than  Pauropus,  and  a  carboniferous  scor- 
pion (Buthus?)  closely  resembling  a  species  now  living  in  Cali- 
fornia, together  with  another  scorpion-like  animal,  Mazonia 

'See  Prof.  Torell's  discovery  of  Eophyton  Liiinaeanum,  a  supposed  land  plant 
allied  to  the  rushes  and  grasses  of  our  day,  in  certain  Swedish  rocks  of  Lower 
Cambrian  age.  The  writer  has,  through  the  kindness  of  Prof.  Torell,  seen  speci- 
mens of  these  plants  in  the  Museum  of  the  Geological  Survey  at  Stockholm.  Mr. 
Murray,  of  the  Canadian  Geological  Survey,  was  the  first  to  discover  in  America 
(Labrador,  Straits  of  Belle  Isle)  this  same  genus  of  plants.  They  are  described 
and  figured  by  Mr.  Billings,  who  speaks  of  them  as  "  slender,  cylindrical,  straight, 
reed-like  plants,"  in  the  "Canadian  Naturalist"  for  August,  1872. 

Should  the  terrestrial  nature  of  these  plants  be  established  on  farther  evidence, 
then  we  are  warranted  in  supposing  that  there  were  isolated  patches  of  land  in 
the  Cambrian  or  Primordial  period,  and  if  there  was  land  there  must  h:ive  been 
bodies  of  fresh  water,  hence  there  may  have  been  both  terrestrial  and  aquatic 
instcts,  possibly  of  forms  like  the  Podurids,  May  flies,  Perlaj,  mites  and  Paurop  .s 
of  the  present  day.  There  was  at  any  rate  land  in  the  Upper  Silurian  period,  as 
Dr.  J.  W.  Dawson describes  Ian  1  p'ants  (Psilophyton)  from  the  Lower  Helderberg 
Rocks  of  Gaspe,  New  Brunswick,  corresponding  in  age  with  the  Ludlow  rocks  of 
England. 

"We  might  also  state  in  this  connection  that  Dr.  Dawson,  the  eminent  fossil  bota- 
nist of  Montreal,  concludes  from  the  immense  masses  of  carbon  'in  the  form  of 
graphite  in  the  Laurentian  rocks  of  Canada,  that "  the  Laun-nlian  period  was 
probably  an  age  of  most  prolific  vegetable  growth.  *  *  *  Whether  the  vegeta- 
tion of  the  Laurentian  was  wholly  aquatic  or  in  part  terrestrial  we  have  no  means 
of  knowing."  In  1855,  Dr.  T.  Sterry  Hunt  asserted  "  that  the  presence  of  iron  ores, 
not  less  than  that  of  graphite,  points  to  the  existence  of  organic  life  even  during 
the  Laurentian  or  so-called  Azoic  period."  In  1861  he  went  farther  and  stated  his 
belief  in  "  the  existence  of  an  abundant  vegetation  during  the  Laurentian  period." 
The  Eophyton  in  Labrador  occurs  above  the  Trilobite  (Paradoxides)  beds,  while 
in  Sweden  they  occur  below. 


THE  LEPTUS  AND  NAUPLIUS  FORMS  COMPARED.      159 

Woodiana,  while  the  Devonian  insects  described  from  St.  John 
by  Mr.  Scudder,  are  nearly  as  highly  organized  as  our  grass- 
hoppers and  May  flies.  Dr.  Dawson  lias  also  discovered  a  well 
developed  milleped  (Xylobius)  in  the  Lower  Coal  Measures  of 
Nova  Scotia ;  so  that  we  must  go  back  to  the  Silurian  period  in 
our  search  for  the  earliest  ancestor,  or  (if  not  of  Darwinian 
proclivities)  prototype,  of  insects." 

Afterwards*  the  writer,  carrying  out  the  idea  suggested  above, 
"referred  the  ancestry  of  the  Myriopods,  Arachnids,  and  Hex- 
apodous  insects  to  a  Leptus-like  terrestrial  animal,  bearing  a 
vague  resemblance  to  the  Nauplius  form  among  Crustacea,  inas- 
much as  the  body  is  not  differentiated  into  a  head,  thorax  and 
abdomen  [though  the  head  may  be  free  from  the  rest  of  the 
body]  and  there  are  three  pairs  of  temporary  locomotive  appen- 
dages. Like  Nauplius,  which  was  first  supposed  to  be  an  adult 
Entomostracan,  the  larval  form  of  Trombidium  had  been  de- 
scribed as  a  genus  of  mites  under  the  name  of  Leptus  (also 
Ocypete  and  Astoma)  and  was  supposed  to  be  adult." 

In  the  same  year  Sir  John  Lubbockf  agrees  with  Brauer  that 
the  groups  represented  by  Podura  and  Campodea  may  have  been 
the  ancestors  of  the  insects,  remarking  that  "the  genus  Cam- 
podea must  be  regarded  as  a  form  of  remarkable  interest,  since 
it  is  the  living  representative  of  a  primaeval  type  from  which 
not  only  the  Collembola  (Podura,  etc.)  and  Thysanura,  but  the 
other  great  orders  of  insects, have  all  derived  their  origin." 

The  comparison  of  the  Leptus  with  the  Nauplius,  or  pre-Zocal 
stage  of  Crustacea,  is  much  more  natural.  But  here  we  are  met 
with  apparently  insuperable  difficulties.  While  the  Nauplius 
(Fig.  191)  has  but  three  pairs  of  appendages,  which  become  the 
two  pairs  of  antennae  and  succeeding  pair  of  limbs  of  the  adult, 
in  the  Leptus  as  the  least  number  we  have  five  pairs,  two  of 
which  belong  to  the  head  (the  maxillae  and  mandibles)  and  three 
to  the  thorax ;  besides  these  is  a  true  head,  distinct  from  the 
hinder  region  of  the  body.  It  is  evident  that  the  Leptus  funda- 
mentally differs  from  the  Nauplius  and -begins  life  on  a  higher 
plane.  We  reject,  therefore,  the  Crustacean  origin  of  the 
insects.  Our  only  refuge  is  in  the  worms,  and  how  to  account 

*In  a  communication  made  to  tlie  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  Oct.  17, 
1870  (see  also  "American  Naturalist"  for  Feb.  and  Sept.,  1871). 

fOn  the  Origin  of  Insects,  a  paper  read  before  the  Linna^an  Society  of  London 
Nov.  2, 1871,  and  reported  in  abstract  in  "Nature,"  Nov.  9, 1871. 


160  HINTS   ON  THE  ANCESTRY  OF  INSECTS. 

for  the  transmutation  of  any  worm  with  which  we  are  at  present 
acquainted  into  a  form  like  the  Leptus,  with  its  mandibulated 
mouth  and  jointed  legs,  seems  at  first  well  nigh  impossible. 
We  have  the  faintest  possible  indication  in  the  structure  of 
some  mites,  and  of  the  Tardigrades  and  Pentastoma,  where 
there  is  a  striking  recurrence,  as  we  may  term  it,  to  a  worm-like 
form,  readily  noticed  by  every  observer,  whatever  his  opinion 
may  be  on  the  developmental  theory.  In  the  Demodex  we  see 
a  tendency  of  the  mite  to  assume  under  peculiar  circumstances 
un  elongated,  worin-like  form.  The  mouth-parts  are  aborted 
(thonjrh  from  what  we  know  of  the  embryology  of  other  mites, 

they  probably 
are  indicated 
early  in  embry- 
onic life),  while 
the  eight  legs  a  re 
not  jointed,  and 
form  simple  tu- 
bercles. In  the 
Tardigrades,  a 
long  step  lower, 
we  have  un- 
Mointed  fleshy 
I  legs  armed  with 
from  two  to  four 
|  claws,  but  the 
mouth-parts  are 
essentially  mite 
in  character.  A 

191.  NauplhiB.  decided    worm 

feature  is  the  fact  that  they  are  hermaphrodites,  each  individual 
having  ovaries  and  spermaries,  as  is  the  case  with  many  worms. 
When  we  come  to  the  singular  creatures  of  which  Fentastoma 
and  Linguatula  are  the  type,  we  have  the  most  striking  approx- 
imation to  the  worms  in  external  form,  but  these  are  induced 
evidently  by  their  parasitic  mode  of  life.  They  lose  the  rudi- 
mentary jointed  limbs  which  some  (Linguatula  especially)  have 
well  marked  in  the  embryo,  and  from  being  oval,  rudely  mite- 
like  in  form,  they  elongate,  and  only  the  claws  or  simple  curved 
hooks,  like  those  of  young  tape  worms,  remain  to  indicate  the 
original  presence  of  true  jointed  legs. 


ANCESTRY  OP   LEPTUS.  161 

In  seeking  for  the  ancestry  of  our  hypothetical  Leptus  among 
the  worms,  we  are  at  best  groping  in  the  dark.  We  know  of 
no  ancestral  form  among  the  true  Annelides,  nor  is  it  probable 
that  it  was  derived  from  the  intestinal  worms.  The  only  worm 
below  the  true  Annelides  that  suggests  any  remote  analogy  to 
the  insects  is  the  singular  and  rare  Peripatus,  which  lives  on 
land  in  warm  climates.  Its  body,  not  divided  into  rings,  is  pro- 
vided with  about  thirty  pairs  of  fleshy  tubercles,  each  ending  in 
two  strong  claws,  and  the  head  is  adorned  with  a  pair  of  fleshy 
tubercles.  It  is  remotely  possible  that  some  Silurian  land 
worm,  if  any  such  existed,  allied  to  our  living  Peripatus,  may 
have  been  the.  ancestor  of  a  series  of  types  now  lost  which 
resulted  in  an  animal  resembling  the  Leptus. 

We  may,  however,  as  bearing  upon  this  difficult  question,  cite 
some  remarkable  discoveries  of  Professor  Granin,  a  Russian 
naturalist,  on  the  early  stages 
of  certain  ichneumon  parasites, 
which  show  some  worm  fea- 
tures in  their  embryonic  devel- 
opment. In  a  species  of  Platy- 
gaster  (Fig.  192,  P.  error  of 
Fitch),  which  is  a  parasite  on  a 
two- winged  gall  fly,  the  earliest 
stage  observed  after  the  egg  is 
laid  is  that  in  which  the  egg 
contains  a  single  cell  with  a  .  192-  Platygaster  error, 
nucleus  and  nucleolus.  Out  of  this  cell  (Fig.  193  A,  a)  arise 
two  other  cells.  The  central  cell  (a)  gives  origin  to  the  em- 
bryo. The  two  outer  ones  multiply  by  subdivision  and  form 
the  embryonal  membrane,  or  "amuion,"  which  is  a  provisional 
envelope  and  does  not  assist  in  building  up  the  body  of  the 
germ.  The  central  single  cell,  however,  multiplies  by  the  sub- 
division of  its  nucleus,  thus  building  up  the  body  of  the  germ. 
Figure  193  B,  g,  shows  the  yolk  or  germ  just  forming  out  of 
the  nuclei  (a)  and  5,  the  peripheral  cells  of  the  blastoderm 
skin,  or  "amnion."  Figure  193  C  shows  the  yolk  transformed 
into  the  embryo  («/),  with  the  outer  layer  of  blastodermic  cells 
(6).  The  body  of  the  germ  is  infolded,  so  that  the  embryo 
appears  bent  on  itself.  Figure  193  D  shows  the  embryo  much 
farther  advanced,  with  the  two  pairs  of  lobes  (md,  rudimentary 
mandibles;  d,  rudimentary  pad-like  organs,  seen  in  a  more 


162 


HINTS   ON  THE   ANCESTRY   OF  INSECTS. 


advanced  stage  in  E),  and  the  bilobate  tail  00-  Figure  194  (w, 
mouth ;  at,  rudimentary  antennae ;  md,  mandibles ;  d,  tongue-like 
appendages ;  st,  anal  stylets ;  the  subject  of  this  figure  is  of  a 
different  species  from  the  insect  previously  figured,  which,  how- 
ever, it  closely  resembles)  shows  the  first  larva  stage  after 
leaving  the  egg.  This  strange  form,  the  author  remarks,  would 
scarcely  be  thought  an  insect,  were  not  its  origin  and  farther 
development  known,  but  rather  a  parasitic  Copepodous  crusta- 
cean, whence  he  calls  this  the  Cyclops-like  stage.  In  this  cou- 


m    at  md 
193.  Development  of  Platygaster. 

dition  it  clings  to  the  inside  of  its  host  by  means  of  its  hook-like 
jaws  (md),  moving  about  like  a  Cestodes  embryo  with  its  well 
known  six  hooks.  The  tail  moves  up  and  down,  and  is  of  but 
little  assistance  in  its  efforts  to  change  its  place.  Singularly 
enough,  the  nervous,  vascular,  and  respiratory  systems  (tra- 
chese)  are  wanting,  and  the  alimentary  canal  is  a  blind  sac, 
remaining  in  an  indifferent,  or  unorganized  state.  How  long 
it  remains  in  this  state  could  not  be  ascertained. 


METAMORPHOSIS    OF  PLATYGASTER. 


163 


The  second  larval  stage  (Fig.  195 ;  ce,  oesophagus ;  ng,  supra- 
ojsophageal  ganglion ;  n,  nervous  cord ;  ga,  and  g,  genital  organs ; 
ms,  band  of  muscles)  is  attained  by  means  of  a  moult,  as  usual 
in  the  metamorphoses  of  insects.  With  the  change  of  skin  the 
larva  entirely  changes  its  form.  So-called  hypodermic  cells  are 
developed.  The  singular  tail  is  dropped,  the  segments  of  the 
body  disappear,  and  the  body  grows  oval,  while  within  begins 


104.  First  Larva  of  Platygaster.      195.  Second  Larva  of  Platygaster. 

a  series  of  remarkable  changes,  like  the  ordinary  development 
of  the  embryo  of  most  other  insects  within  the  egg.  The  cells 
of  the  hypodermis  multiply  greatly,  and  lie  one  above  the  other 
in  numerous  layers.  They  give  rise  to  a  special  primitive  organ 
closely  resembling  the  ''primitive  band"  of  all  insect  embryos. 
The  alimentary  canal  is  made  anew,  and  the  nervous  and  vascu- 


164 


HINTS   ON    THE  ANCESTRY  OF  INSECTS. 


lar  systems  now  appear,  but  the  tracheae  are  not  yet  formed. 
It  remains  in  this  state  for  a  much  longer  period  than  in  the 
previous  stage. 

The  third  larval  form  only  a  few  live  to  reach.     This  is  of  the 
usual  long,  oval  form  of  the  larvsB  of  the  ichneumons,  and  the 
body  has  thirteen  segments  exclusive  of  the  head.    The  muscular 
system  has  greatly  developed  and  the  larva  is  much  more  lively 
in  its  motions   than    before.       The    new 
organs  that  develop  are  the  air  tubes  and 
fat  bodies.     The  "imaginal  disks"  or  rudi- 
-  at  mentary  portions  destined  to  develop  and 
form  the  skin  of  the  adult,  or  imago,  arise 
in  the  pupa  state,  which  resembles  that  of 
other  ichneumons.     These  disks  are  only 
engaged,   in   Platygaster,   in  building  up 
the  rudimentary. appendages,  while  in  the 
flies  (MuscidaB  and  Corethra)  they  build 
up    the    whole    body,    according    to    the 
remarkable  discovery  of  Weismann. 

Not  less  interesting  is  the  history  of  the 
development  of  a  species  of  Polynema, 
another  egg-parasite,  which  lays  its  eggs 
(one,  seldom  two)  in  the  eggs  of  a  small 
dragon  fly,  Agrion  virgo,  which  oviposits 
in  the  parenchyma  of  the  leaves  of  water- 
lilies.  The  eggs  develop  as  in  Platygaster. 
The  earliest  stage  of  the  embryo  is  very 
remarkable.  It  leaves  the  egg  when  very 
small  and  immovable,  and  with  scarcely  a 
trace  of  organization,  being  a  mere  flask-shaped  sac  of  cells.* 
It  remains  in  this  state  five  or  six  days. 

In  the  second  stage,  or  Histriobdella-like  form,  the  larva  is, 
in  its  general  appearance,  like  the  low  worm  to  which  Ganin 
compares  it.  It  may  be  described  as  bearing  a  general  resem- 
blance to  the  third  and  fully  developed  larval  form  (Fig.  196,  ty, 

*  This  reminds  us  (though  Ganin  does  not  mention  it)  of  the  development  of  the 
embryo  of  Julus,  the  Thousand  legs,  which,  according  to  Newport,  hatches  the 
25th  day  after  the  egg  ia  laid.  At  this  period  the  embryo  is  partially  organized, 
having  faint  traces  of  segments,  and  is  still  enveloped  in  its  embryonal  membranes 
and  retains  its  connection  with  the  shell.  In  this  condition  it  remains  for  seven- 
teen days,  when  it  throws  off  its  embryonal  membrane,  and  becomes  detached 
from  the  shell. 


196.  Third  Larva  of 
Polynema. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  STING. 


165 


md 


three  pairs  of  abdominal  tubercles  destined  to  form  the  sting ; 
Z,  rudiments  of  the  legs ;  /fc,  portion  of  the  fatty  body ;  at,  rudi- 
ments of  the  antennae ;  fl,  imaginal  disks,  or  rudiments  of  the 
wings).  No  tracheae  are  developed  in  the  larva,  nor  do  any  exist 
in  the  imago.  (Ganin  thinks,  that  as  these  insects  are  some- 
what aquatic,  the  adult  insects  flying  over  the  surface  of  the 
water,  the  wings  may  act  as  respiratory  organs,  like  gills.)  It 
lives  six  to  seven  days  before  pupating,  and  remains  from  ten 
to  twelve  days  in  the  pupa  state. 

The  origin  of  the  sting  }s  clearly  ascertained.  Ganin  shows 
that  it  consists 
of  three  pairs  of 
tubercles,  situ- 
ated r  e  s  p  e  c  - 
lively  on  the 
seventh,  eighth, 
and  ninth  seg- 
ments of  the  ab- 
domen (Fig.  196, 
tg).  The  labium 
is  not  developed 
from  a  pair  of 
tubercles,  as  is 
usual,  but  at 
once  appears  as 
an  unpaired,  or 
single  organ. 
The  pupa  state 
lasts  for  five  or 
six  days,'  and  197.  Development  of  Egg-parasites. 

when  the  imago  appears  it  eats  its  way  through  a  small  round 
opening  in  the  end  of  the  skin  of  its  host,  the  Agrion  larva. 
The  development  of  Ophioneurus,  another  egg-parasite,  agrees 
with  that  of  Platygaster  and  Polynema.  This  egg-parasite  passes 
its  early  life  in  the  eggs  of  Pieris  brassicse,  and  two  or  three 
live  to  reach  the  imago  state,  though  about  six  eggs  are  depos- 
ited by  the  female.  The  eggs  are  oval,  and  not  stalked.  The 
larva  is  at  first  of  the  form  indicated  by  figure  197  E,  and  when 
fully  grown  becomes  of  a  broad  oval  form,  the  body  not  being 
divided  into  segments.  It  differs  from  the  genera  already  men- 
tioned, in  remaining  within  its  egg  membrane,  and  not  assuming 


ul 


166  HINTS   ON  THE  ANCESTRY   OF  INSECTS. 

their  strange  forms.  From  the  non-segmented,  sac-like  larva, 
it  passes  directly  into  the  pupa  state. 

The  last  egg-parasite  noticed  by  Ganin,  is  Teleas,  whose 
development  resembles  that  of  Platygaster.  It  is  a  parasite  iii 
the  eggs  of  Gerris,  the  Water  Boatman.  Figure  197  A  repre- 
sents the  egg;  B,  C,  and  D,  the  first  stage  of  the  larva,  the 
abdomen  (or  posterior  division  of  the  body)  being  furnished 
with  a  series  of  bristles  on  each  side.  (B  represents  the  ven- 
tral, C  the  dorsal,  and  D  the  profile  view ;  at,  antennae ;  md, 
hook-like  mandibles ;  mo,  mouth ;  6,  bristles ;  ra,  intestine ;  sto, 
the  tail;  ul,  under  lip  or  labium.)  In  the  second  larval  stage, 
which  is  oval  in  form,  and  not  segmented,  the  primitive  baud 
is  formed. 

In  concluding  the  account  of  his  remarkable  discoveries, 
Ganin. draws  attention  to  the  great  differences  in  the  formation 
of  the  eggs  and  the  germs  of  these  parasites  from  what  occurs 
in  other  insects.  The  egg  has  no  nutritive  cells ;  the  formation 
of  the  primitive  band,  usually  the  first  indication  of  the  germ, 
is  retarded  till  the  second  larval  stage  is  attained;  and  the 
embryonal  membrane  is  not  homologous  with  the  so-called 
"amnion"  of  other  insects,  but  may  possibly  be  compared  with 
the  skin  developed  on  the  upper  side  of  the  low,  worm-like  aca- 
rian,  Pentastomum,  and  the  "larval  skin"  of  the  embryos  of 
many  low  Crustacea.  He  says,  also,  that  we  cannot,  perhaps, 
find  the  homologues  of  the  provisional  organs  of  the  larvae,  such 
as  the  singularly  shaped  antennae,  the  claw-like  mandibles,  the 
tongue-  or  ear-like  appendages,  in  other  Arthropoda  (insects 
and  Crustacea);  but  that  they  may  be  found  in  the  parasitic 
Lerna3an  crustaceans,  and  in  the  leeches,  such  as  Histriobella. 
He  is  also  struck  by  the  similarity  in  the  development  of  these 
egg-parasites  to  that  of  a  kind  of  leech  (Nephelis),  the  embryo 
of  which  is  provided  with  ciliae,  recalling  the  larva  of  Teleas 
(Fig.  197  B,  (7),  while  in  the  true  leeches  (Hirudo)  the  primi- 
tive band  is  not  developed  until  after  they  have  passed  through 
a  provisional  larval  stage. 

This  complicated  metamorphosis  of  the  egg-parasites,  Ganin 
also  compares  to  the  so-called  "hyper-metamorphosis"  of  cer- 
tain insects  (Meloe,  Sitaris,  and  the  Stylopidae)  made  known  by 
Siebold,  Newport  and  Fabre,  and  he  considers  it  to  be  of  the 
same  nature. 

He  also,  in  closing,  compares  such  early  larval  forms  as  those 


EVOLUTION  BY  ACCELERATION   AND  RETARDATION.  167 

given  in  figures  193  E  and  194,  to  the  free  swimming  Copepoda. 
Finally,  he  says  a  few  words  on  the  theory  of  evolution,  and 
remarks  "there  is  no  doubt  that,  if  a  solution  of  the  questions 
arising  concerning  the  genealogical  relations  of  different  animals 
among  themselves  is  possible,  comparative  embryology  will  af- 
ford the  first  and  truest  principles."  He  modestly  suggests  that 
the  facts  presented  in  his  paper  will  widen  our  views  on  the 
genetic  relations  of  the  insects  to  other  animals,  and  refers  to 
the  opinion  first  expressed  by  Fritz  Mu'ller  (Fur  Darwin,  p.  91), 
and  endorsed  by  Haeckel  in  his  "Generelle  Morphologic,"  that 
we  must  seek  for  the  ancestors  of  insects  and  Arachnida  in  the 
Zoe'a  form  of  Crustacea.  Pie  cautiously  remarks,  however,  that 
"  the  embryos  and  larvae  observed  by  me  in  the  egg-parasites 
open  up  a  new  and  wide  field  for  a  whole  series  of  such  consid- 
erations ;  but  I  will  suppress  them,  since  I  am  firmly  convinced 
that  a  theory,  which  I  build  up  to-day,  can  easily  be  destroyed 
with  some  few  facts  which  I  learn  to-morrow.  Since  compara- 
tive embryology  as  a  science  does  not  yet  exist,  so  do  I  think 
that  all  genetic  theories  are  too  premature,  and  without  a  strong 
scientific  foundation." 

The  writer  is  perhaps  less  cautious,  but  he  cannot  refrain 
from  making  some  reflections  suggested  by  the  remarkable  dis- 
coveries of  Ganin.  In  the  first  place,  these  facts  bear  strongly 
on  the  theory  of  evolution  by  "  acceleration  and  retardation." 
In  the  history  of  these  early  larval  stages  we  see  a  remarkable 
acceleration  in  the  growth  of  the  embryo.  A  simple  sac  of 
unorganized  cells,  with  a  half-made  intestine,  so  to  speak,  is 
hatched,  and  made  to  perform  the  duty  of  an  ordinary,  quite 
highly  organized  larva.  Even  the  formation  of  the  "primitive 
band,"  usually  the  first  indication  of  the  organization  of  the 
germ,  is  postponed  to  a  comparatively  late  period  in  larval  life. 
The  different  anatomical  systems,  i.e.,  the  heart  with  its  vessels, 
the  nervous  system  and  the  respiratory  system  (trachea?),  appear 
at  longer  or  shorter  intervals,  while  in  one  genus  the  tracheae 
are  not  developed  at  all.  Thus  some  portions  of  the  animal  are 
accelerated  in  their  development  more  than  others,  while  others 
are  retarded,  and  in  some  species  certain  organs  are  not  devel- 
oped at  all.  Meanwhile  all  live  in  a  fluid  medium,  with  much 
the  same  habits,  and  surrounded  with  quite  similar  physical 
conditions. 

The  highest  degree  of  acceleration  is  seen  in  the  reproductive 


168  HINTS   ON    THE  ANCESTRY   OF  INSECTS. 

organs  of  the  Cecidomyian  larva  of  Miastor,  which  produces  a 
summer  brood  of  young,  alive,  and  living  free  in  the  body 
of  the  child-parent ;  and  in  the  pupa  of  Chironomus,  which  has 
been  recently  shown  by  Von  Grimm,  a  fellow  countryman  of 
Ganin,  to  produce  young  in  the  spring,  while  the  adult  fly  lays 
eggs  in  the  autumn  in  the  usual  manner.  This  is  in  fact  a  true 
virgin  reproduction,  and  directly  comparable  to  the  alternation 
of  generations  observed  in  the  jelly  fishes,  in  Salpa,  and  certain 
intestinal  worms.  We  can  now,  in  the  light  of  the  researches 
of  Siebold,  Leuckart,  Ganin  and  others,  trace  more  closely  than 
ever  the  connection  between  simple  growth  and  metamorphosis, 
and  metamorphosis  and  parthenogenesis,  and  perceive  that  they 
are  but  the  terms  of  a  single  series.  By  the  acceleration  in  the 
development  of  a  single  set  of  organs  (the  reproductive),  no 
more  wonderful  than  the  acceleration  and  retardation  of  the 
other  systems  of  organs,  so  clearly  pointed  out  in  the  embryos 
of  Platygaster  and  its  allies,  we  see  how  parthenogenesis  under 
certain  conditions  may  result.  The  barren  Platygaster  larva,  the 
fertile  Cecidomyia  larva,  the  fertile  Aphis  larva,  the  fertile  Chir- 
onomus pupa,  the  fertile  hydroid  polype,  and  the  fertile  adult 
queen  bee  are  simply  animals  in  different  degrees  of  organiza- 
tion, and  with  reproductive  systems  differing  not  in  quality?  but 
in  the  greater  or  less  rapidity  of  their  development  as  compared 
with  the  rest  of  the  body. 

Another  interesting  point  is,  that  while  the  larvae  vary  so 
remarkably  in  form,  the  adult  ichneumon  flies  are  remarkably 
similar  to  one  another.  Do  the  differences  in  their  larval 
history  seem  to  point  back  to  certain  still  more  divergent 
ancestral  forms? 

These  remarkable  hyper-metamorphoses  remind  us  of  the 
metamorphosis  of  the  embryo  of  Echinoderms  into  the  Pluteus- 
and  Bipinnaria-forms  of  the  starfish,  sea  urchins  and  Holothuri- 
ans  ;*  of  the  Actinotrocha-form  larva  of  the  Sipunculoid  worms ; 


*It  is  a  suggestive  fact  that  these  deciduous  forms  give  way  through  histolysis 
to  true  larval  forms,  just  as  in  some  flies  (Musca  vomitoria)  the  true  larval  lorm 
goes  under,  and  the  adult  form  is  built  up  from  the  hnaginal  diskg  of  the  larva.  In 
an  analogous  manner  the  deciduous,  pluteus-condition  of  the  young  Echinoderm 
perishes  and  is  absorbed  by  the  growing  body  of  the  permanent  adult  stage.  This 
deciduous  stage  of  the  ichneumon  may  accordingly  be  termed  the  prelarval  stage. 
Now  as  we  find,  insects  with  and  without  this  prelarval  stage,  and  in  the  radiates 
quite  different  degrees  of  metamorphoses,  the  inquiry  arises  how  far  these  differ- 
ences are  correlated  with,  and  consequently  dependent  upon,  the  physical  sur- 


THE  WORMS   THUS   ANCESTORS   OP  INSECTS.  169 

of  the  Tornaria  into  Balanoglossus,  the  worm ;  of  the  Cercaria- 
form  larva  of  Distoma;  of  the  Pilidium-form  larva  of  Neraertes; 
and  the  larval  forms  of  the  leeches  ;*  as  well  as  the  mite  Pentas- 
tomum,  and  certain  other  aberrant  mites,  such  as  Myobia. 

While  Fritz  Miiller  and  Dohrn  have  considered  the  insects  as 
having  descended  from  the  Crustacea  (some  primitive  zoe'a- 
form),  and  Dohrn  has  adduced  the  supposed  zoea-form  larva  of 
these  egg-parasites  as  a  proof,  we  cannot  but  think,  in  a  subject 
so  purely  speculative  as  the  ancestry  of  animals,  that  the  facts 
brought  out  by  Ganin  tend  to  confirm  our  theory,  that  the 
ancestry  of  all -the  insects  (including  the  Arachnids  and  Myrio- 
pods)  should  be  traced  directly  to  the  worms.  The  development 
of  the  degraded,  aberrant  Arachnidan  Pentastomum  accords,  in 
some  important  respects,  with  that  of  the  intestinal  worms. 
The  Leptus-form  larva  of  Julus,  with  its  strange  embryological 
development,  in  some  respects  so  like  that  of  some  worms, 
points  in  that  direction,  as  certainly  as  does  the  embryological 
development  of  the  egg-parasite  Ophioneurus.  The  Nauplius 
form  of  the  embryo  or  larva  of  nearly  all  Crustacea,  also  points 
back  to  the  worms  as  their  ancestors,  the  divergence  having 
perhaps  originated,  as  we  have  suggested,  in  the  Rotatoria. 

While  the  Crustacea  may  have  resulted  from  a  series  of 
prototypes  leading  up  from  the  Rotifers  (Fig.  198),  it  is  barely 


roundings  of  these  animals  in  the  free  swimming  condition.  Merely  to  point  out 
the  differences  in  the  mode  of  development  of  animals  is  an  interesting  mutter, 
and  one  could  do  worse  things,  but  the  philosophical  naturalist  cannot  rest  here. 
He  must  seek  how  these  differences  were  brought  about. 

*  Leuckart,  in  his  great  work,  "Die  Menschlichen  Parasiten," p.  700,  after  the 
analogy  of  Hirudo,  which  develops  a  primitive  streak  late  in  larval  life,  ventures 
to  consider  the  first  indications  of  the  germ  of  Nemertes  in  its  larval,  Pilidium 
form  as  a  primitive  streak.  He  also  suggests  that  the  development  of  the  later 
larval  forms  of  the  Echinoderms  is  the  same  in  kind. 

Moreover,  nearly  twenty  years  ago  (1854)  Zaddach,  a  German  naturalist,  con- 
tended that  the  worms  are  closely  allied  in  their  mode  of  development  to  the 
insects  and  crustaceans.  He  compares  the  mode  of  development  of  a  leech  (Clep- 
sine)  and  certain  bristle-bearing  worms  (Sa^nuris,  Lurnbriculus  and  Uaxes),  and 
we  may  now  from  Kowaleusky's  researches  (1871)  add  the  common  earth  worm 
(Lumbricus),  in  which  there  is  no  such  metamorphosis  as  in  the  sea  Nereids^to 
that  of  insects;  the  mode  of  formation  of  the  primitive  band  in  the  leeches  and 
eartli  worms  being  much  like  that  of  insects.  This  confirms  the  view  of  Leuckart 
and  Ganin,  who  both  seem  to  have  overlooked  Zaddach's  remarks.  Moreover,  the 
rings  of  the  harder  bodied  worms,  as  Zaddach  says,  contain  chitlne,  as  in  the  in- 
sects. Zaddach  also  enters  into  farther  details,  which  in  his  opinion  ally  the 
worms  nearer  to  the  insects  than  many  naturalists  at  his  time  were  disposed  to 
allow.  The  singular  Echiuoderes  has  some  remarkable  Arthropod  characters. 
15 


170  HINTS   ON   THE  ANCESTRY   OF  INSECTS. 

possible  that  one  of  these  creatures  may  have  given  rise  to  a 
form  resulting  in  two  series  of  beings,  one  leading  to  the  Lep- 
tus  form,  the  other  to  the  Nauplius.  For  the  true  Annelides 
(Chaetopods)  are  too  circumscribed  and  homogeneous  a  group 
to  allow  us  to  look  to  them  for  the  ancestral  forms  of  insects. 
But  that  the  insects  may  have  descended  from  some  low  worms 
is  not  improbable  when  we  reflect  that  the  Syllis  and  allied 
genera  of  Aunelides  bear  appendages  consisting  of  numerous 
joints;  indeed,  the  strange  Dujardinia  rotifera,  figured  by  Qua- 
trefages,  in  its  general  form  is  remarkably  like  the  larva  of 

Chloeon.  It  has  a  quite  distinct 
head,  bearing  five  long,  slender, 
jointed  antennae,  and  but  eight  or 
nine  rings  to  the  body,  which  ends 
in  two  long,  many  jointed  appen- 
dages exactly  like  the  tentacles. 
|Quatrefages  adds,  that  its  move- 
ments are  usually  slow,  but  "when 
it  wishes  to  move  more  rapidly,  it 
moves  its  body  alternately  up  and 
down  with  much  vivacity,  and 
shoots  forwards  by  bounds,  so  to 
speak,  a  little  after  the  manner  of 
the  larvae  of  the  mosquito"  (His- 
toire  Naturelle  des  Anneles,Tome 
2,  p.  69).  The  gills  of  aquatic 
insects  only  differ  from  those  of 
worms  in  possessing  trachea}, 
198.  A  Rotifer.  though  the  gills  of  the  Crustacea 

may  be  directly  compared  with  those  of  insects. 

But  when  once  inside  the  circle  of  the  class  of  insects  the 
ground  is  firmer,  as  our  knowledge  is  surer.  Granting  now  that 
the  Leptus-like  ancestor  of  the  six-footed  insects  has  become 
established,  it  is  not  so  difficult  to  see  how  the  Podurae  and 
finally  a  form  like  Campodea  appeared.  Aquatic  forms  resem- 
bling the  larva  of  the  Ephemerae,  Perlae  and,  more  remotely, 
the  Forficulse  and  white  ants  of  to-day  were  probably  evolved 
with  comparative  suddenness.  Given  the  evolution  of  forms 
like  the  earwigs  (Forficula),  cockroaches  and  white  ants  (Ter- 
mes),  the  latter  of  which  abounded  in  the  coal  period,  and  it 
was  not  a  great  step  forward  to  the  evolution  of  the  Dragon- 


ORIGIN    OF  THE  TRACHEA. 


171 


flies,  the  Psocus,  the  Chrysopa,  the  lice  or  parasitic  Ilemiptera, 
together  with  Thrips,  thus  forming  the  establishment  of  lines 
of  development  leading  up  to  those  Neuroptera  with  a  complete 
metamorphosis,  and  finally  to  the  grasshoppers  and  other  forms 
of  Orthoptera,  together  with  the  Hemiptera. 
We  have  thus  advanced  from  wingless  to  winged  forms,  i.  e., 


199.  Chrysopa.  200.  1'anorpa. 

from  insects  without  a  metamorphosis  to  those  with  a  partial 
metamorphosis  like  the  Perlas;  to  the  May  flies  and  Dragon 
flies,  in  which  the  adult  is  still  more  unlike  the  larva;  to  the 
Chrysopa  (Fig.  199)  and  Forceps  Tails  (Panorpa,  Fig.  200)  and 
Caddis  flies,  in  which,  especially  the  latter,  the 
metamorphosis  is  complete,  the  pupa  being 
inactive  and  enclosed  in  a  cocoon. 

Having  assumed  the  creation  of  our  Leptus  ZlJ 
by  evolutional  laws,  we  must  now  account  for 
the  appearance  of  tracheae  and  those  organs  so 
dependent  on  them,  the  wings,  which,  by  their 
presence  and  consequent  changes  in  the  struc- 
ture of  the  crust  of  the  body,  afford  such  dis- 
tinctive characters  to  the  flying  insects,  and 
raise  them  so  far  above  the  creeping  spiders 
and  centipedes.  Our  Leptus  at  first  undoubtedly 
breathed  through  the  skin,  as  do  most  of  the 
Poduras,  since  we  have  been  unable  to  find 
tracheae  4n  them,  nor  even  in  the  prolarva  of  a 
genus  of  minute  ichneumon  egg  parasites,  nor 
in  the  Linguatulae  and  Tardigrades,  and  some 
mites,  such  as  the  Itch  insect  and  the  Demodex, 
and  other  Acari.  In  the  Myriopod,  Pauropus, 
Lubbock  was  unable  to  find  any  traces  of  tra- 
cheae. If  we  examine  the  embryo  of  an  insect  shortly  before 
birth,  as  in  the  young  Dragon  fly  (figure  201,  the  dotted  line 
t  crosses  the  rudimentary  tracheae),  we  find  it  to  consist  of 


201.  Embryo  of 
Diplax. 


172  HINTS  ON  THE   ANCESTRY   OF  INSECTS.       . 

two  simple  tubes  with  few  branches,  while  there  are  no  stig- 
mata, or  breathing  holes,  to  be  seen  in  the  sides  of  the  body. 
This  fact  sustains  the  view  of  Gegenbaur*  that  at  first  the  tra- 
cheae formed  two  simple  tubes  in  the  body-cavity,  and  that  the 
primary  office  of  these  tubes  was  for  lightening  the  body,  and 
that  their  function  as  respiratory  tubes  was  a  secondary  one. 
The  aquatic  Protoleptus,  as  we  may  term  the  ancestor  of  Lep- 
tus,  may  have  had  such 'tubes  as  these,  which  acted  like  the 
swimming  bladder  of  fishes  for  lightening  the  body,  as  suggested 
by  Gegenbaur.  It  is  known  that  the  swimming  bladder  of  fishes 
becomes  developed  into  the  lungs  of  air-breathing  vertebrates 
and  man  himself.  As  our  Leptus  adopted  a  terrestrial  life  and 
needed  more  air,  a  connection  was  probably  formed  by  a  minute 
branch  on  each  side  of  the  body  with  some  minute  pore  (for 
such  exist,  whose  uses  are  as  yet  unknown)  through  the  skin, 
which  finally  became  specialized  into  a  stigma,  or  breathing 
pore :  an.d  from  the  tracheal  system  being  closed,  we  now  have 
the  open  tracheal  system  of  land  insects. 

The  next  inquiry  is  as  to  the  origin  of  the  wings.  Here  the 
question  arises  if  wingless  forms  are  exceptional  among  the 
winged  insects,  and  the  loss  of  wings  is  obviously  dependent 
on  the  habits  (as  in  the  lice),  and  environment  of  the  species 
(as  in  beetles  living  on  islands,  which  are  apt  to  lose  the  hinder 
pair  of  wings),  why  may  not  their  acquisition  in  the  first  place 
have  been  due  to  external  agencies ;  and,  as  they  are  suddenly 
discarded,  why  may  they  not  have  suddenly  appeared  in  the  first 
place?  In  aquatic  larvae  there  are  often  external  gill-like  organs, 
being  simple  sacs  permeated  by  tracheae  (as  in  Agrion,  Fig.  129, 
or  the  May  flies).  These  organs  are  virtually  aquatic  wings, 
aiding  the  insect  in  progression  as  well  as  in  aerating  the  blood, 
as  in  the  true  wings.  They  are  very  variable  in  position,  some 
being  developed  at  the  extremity  of  the  abdomen,  as  in  Agrion, 
or  along  the  sides,  as  in  the  May  flies,  or  filiform  and  arranged 
in  tufts  on  the  under  side  of  the  body,  as  in  Perla;  and  the  natu- 
ralist is  not  surprised  to  find  them  absent  or  present  in  accord- 
ance with  the  varying  habits  of  the  animal.  For  example,  in  the 
larvae  of  the  larger  Dragon  flies  (Libellula,  etc.)  they  are  want- 
ing, while  in  Agrion  and  its  allies  they  are  present. 

*Vergleichende  Anatomie,  2te  Auflage,  1870,  p.  437.  I  should,  however,  here  add 
that  I  am  told  by  Mr.  Putnam  that  some  fishes  which  have  no  swim-bladder,  are 
surface-swimmers,  and  vice  versa. 


ORIGIN  OP  THE  WINGS.  173 

Now  we  conceive  that  wings  formed  in  much  the  same  way, 
and  with  no  more  disturbance,  so  to  speak,  to  the  insect's  organ- 
ization, appeared  during  a  certain  critical  period  in  the  meta- 
morphosis of  some  early  insect.  As  soon  as  this  novel  mode  of 
locomotion  became  established  we  can  easily  see  how  surround- 
ing circumstances  would  favor  their  farther  development  until 
the  presence  of  wings  became  universal.  If  space  permitted  us 
to  pursue  this  interesting  subject  farther,  we  could  show  how 
invariably  correlated  in  form  and  structure  are  the  wings  of 
insects  to  the  varied  conditions  by  which  they  are  surrounded, 
and  which  we  are  forced  to  believe  stand  in  the  relation  of  cause 
to  effect.  Again,  why  should  the  wings  always  appear  on  the 
thorax  and  on  the  upper  instead  of  the  under  side?  As  this  is 
the  seat  of  the  centre  of  gravity,  it  is  evident  that  cosmical  laws 
as  well  as  the  more  immediate  laws  of  biology  determine  the 
position  and  nature  of  the  wings  of  an  insect. 

Correlated  with  the  presence  of  wings  is  the  wonderful  dif- 
ferentiation of  the  crust,  especially  of  the  thorax,  whe're  each 
segment  consists  of  a  number  of  distinct  pieces ;  while  in  the 
spiders  and  Myriopods  the  segments  are  as  simple  as  in  the 
abdominal  segments  of  the  winged  insect.  It  is  not  difficult 
here  to  trace  a  series  leading  up  from  the  Poduras,  in  which  the 
segments  are  like  those  of  spiders,  to  the  wonderful  complexity 
of  the  parts  in  the  thoracic  segments  of  the  Lepidoptera  and 
Hymenoptera. 

In  his  remarks  "On  the  Origin  of  Insects,"*  Sir  John  Lub- 
bock  says,  "I  feel  great  difficulty  in  conceiving  by  what  natural 
process  an  insect  with  a  suctorial  mouth  like  that  of  a  gnat  or 
butterfly  could  be  developed  from  a  powerfully  mandibulate  type 
like  the  Ortheptera,  or  even  from  the  Neuroptera."  Is  it  not 
more  difficult  to  account  for  the  origin  of  the  mouth-parts  at 
all?  They  are  developed  as  tubercles  or  folds  in  the  tegument, 
and  are  homologous  with  the  legs.  Figure  186  shows  that  the 
two  sorts  of  limbs  are  at  one  time  identical  in  form  and  relative 
position.  The  thought  suggests  itself  that  these  long,  soft,  fin- 
ger-like appendages  may  have  been  derived  from  the  tentacles 
of  the  higher  worms,  but  the  grounds  for  this  opinion  are  uncer- 
tain. At  any  rate,  the  earliest  form  of  limb  must  have  been 
that  of  a  soft  tubercle  armed  with  one,  or  two,  or  many  terminal 

•  Reported  In  u  Nature  "  for  Nov.  9, 1871. 


174 


HINTS   ON  THE  ANCESTRY  OF  INSECTS. 


202.  FootofChiro- 
nomus. 


claws,  as  seen  in  aquatic  larvae,  such  as  Chironomus  (Fig.  202), 
Ephydra  (Fig.  203  a,  6,  c,  pupa)  and  many  others.  As  the  Proto- 
leptus  assumed  a  terrestrial  life  and  needed  to  walk,  the  rudi- 
mentary feet  would  tend  to  elongate,  and  in  consequence  need 
the  presence  of  chitine  to  harden  the  integument,  until  the  habit 
of  walking  becoming  fixed,  the  necessity  of  a  jointed  structure 
arose.  After  this  the  different  needs  of  the  offspring  of  such  an 
insect,  with  their  different  modes  of  taking 
food,  vegetable  or  animal,  would  induce  the 
diverse  forms  of  simple,  or  raptorial,  or  leaping 
or  digging  limbs.  A  peculiar  use  of  the  anterior 
members,  as  seen  in  grasping  the  food  and  con- 
veying it  to  the  mouth  (perhaps  originally  a 
simple  orifice  with  soft  lips,  as  in  Peripatus), 
would  tend  to  cause  such  limbs  to  be  grouped 
together,  to  concentrate  around  the  mouth-opening,  and  to  be 
directed  constantly  forwards.  With  use,  as  in  the  case  of  legs, 
these  originally  soft  mouth-feet  would  gradually  harden  at  the 
extremities,  until  serviceable  in  biting,  when  they  would  become 
jaws  and  palpi.  Given  a  mouth  and  limbs  surrounding  it,  and 
we  at  once  have  a  rude  head  set  off  from  the  rest  of  the  body. 
And  in  fact  such  is  the  *  history  of  the  development  of  these 
parts  in  the  embryo.  At  first  the  head  is  indicated  by  the  buds 
forming  the  rudiments  of  limbs;  the 
segments  to  which  they  are  attached 
do  not  form  a  true  head  until  after 
the  mouth-parts  have  attained  their 
jaw-like  characters,  and  it  is  not  un- 
til the  insect  is  about  to  be  hatched, 
that  the  head  is  definitely  walled  in. 
We  have  arrived,  then,  at  our*Lep- 
tus,  with  a  head  bearing  two  pairs 
of  jaws.  The  spiders  and  mites  do 
not  advance  beyond  this  stage.  But  203'  Ephydra. 

in  the  true  insects  and  Myriopods,  we  have  the  addition  of 
special  sense  organs,  the  antennas,  and  another  pair  of  appen- 
dages, the  labial  palpi.  It  is  evident  that  in  the  ancestor  of 
these  two  groups  the  first  pair  of  appendages  became  early 
adapted  for  purely  sensory  purposes,  and  were  naturally  pro- 
jected far  in  advance  of  the  mouth,  forming  the  antennas. 

Before  considering  the  changes  from  the  mandibulate  form 


LEPTIFORM   AND   ERUCIFORM   LARV.E.  175 

of  insects  to  those  with  mouth  parts  adapted  for  .piercing  and 
sucking,  we  must  endeavor  to  learn  how  far  it  was  possible  for 
the  caterpillar  or  maggot  to  become  evolved  from  the  Leptus- 
like  larvae  of  the  Neuroptera,  Orthoptera,  Hemiptera  and  most 
Coleoptera.  I  may  quote  from  a  previous  article*  a  few  words 
in  relation  to  two  kinds  of  larvae  most  prevalent  among  insects. 
"  There  are  two  forms  of  insectean  larva?  which  are  pretty  con- 
stant. One  we  call  leptiform,  from  its  general  resemblance  to 
the  larva?  of  the  mites  (Leptus).  The  larvae  of  all  the  Neurop- 
tera, except  those  of  the  Phryganeida?  and  Panorpida?  (which 
are  cylindrical  and  resemble  caterpillars),  are  more  or  less  lepti- 
form, i.  e.,  have  a  flattened  or  oval  body,  with  large  thoracic  legs. 
Such  are  the  larva?  of  the  Orthoptera  and  Hemiptera,  and  the 
Coleoptera  (except  the  Curculionida? ;  possibly  the  Cerambyciclse 
and  Buprestida?,  which  approach  the  maggot-like  form  of  the 
larvae  of  weevils).  On  the  other  hand,  taking  the  caterpillar  or 
bee  larva,  with  their  cylindrical,  fleshy  bodies,  in  most  respects 
typical  of  larval  forms  of  the  Hymenoptera,  Lepidoptera  and 
Diptera,  as  the  type  of  the  cruciform  larva,  etc.  *  *  *  The 
larva?  of  the  earliest  insects  were  probably  leptiform,  and  the 
cruciform  condition  is  consequently  an  acquired  one,  as  sug- 
gested by  Fritz  Miiller."t  It  seems  that  these  two  sorts  of 
larva?  had  also  been  distinguished  by  Dr.  Brauer  in  the  article 
already  referred  to,  with  which,  however,  the  writer  was  unac- 
quainted at  the  time  of  writing  the  above  quoted  article.  The 
similar  views  presented  may  seem  to  indicate  that  they  are 
founded  in  nature.  Dr.  Brauer,  after  remarking  that  the  Podu- 
rids  seemed  to  fulfil  Haeckel's.  idea  of  what  were  the  most  prim- 
itive insects,  and  noticing  how  closely  they  resemble  the  larva? 
of  Myriopods,  says,  "  specially  interesting  are  those  forms 
among  the  Podurida?  which  are  described  as  Campodea  and 
Japyx,  since  the  larvae  of  a  great  number  of  insects  may  be 
traced  back  to  them";  but  he  adds,  and  with  this  view  we  are 
unable  to  agree,  "while  others,  the  caterpillar-like  fqrms  (Rau- 
penform),  resulted  from  them  by  a  retrograde  process,  and  also 


*The  Embryology  of  Chrysopa,  and  Its  bearings  on  the  Classification  of  the 
Neuroptera,  "American  Naturalist,"  vol.  v.  Sept.,  1871. 

t  "  It  is  my  opinion  that  the  'incomplete  metamorphosis'  of  the  Orthoptera  is 
the  primitive  one,  inherited  from  the  original  parents  of  all  insects,  and  the  'com- 
plete metamorphosis'  of  the  Coleoptera,  Diptera,  etc.,  a  subsequently  acquired 
one."  Fuer  Darwin,  English  Trans.,  p.  121. 


PI.  2. 


EXAMPLES  OP  LEPTIFORM   LARV.'E. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  2.  Figure  1,  different  forms  of  Leptus;  2,  Piplax;  3, 
Coccim-lla  larva;  4,  Cicada  larva;  5,  Cicindela  larva;  6,  Ant  Lion;  7,  Calligrapha 
larva;  8,  Aphis  larva;  9,  Hemerobius  larva;  10,  Gyrinus  larva;  11,  Carabid  larva; 
12,  Meloe  larva. 

176 


PI.  3. 


EXAMPLES  OF  ERUCIFORM  LARV2E. 

EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  3.  Figure  1.  Panorpa  larva;  2,  Phrypanea  larva;  3, 
Weevil  larva;  4,  third  larva  of  Meloe;  5,  Cliionea  larva;  6,  Camel  Woim;  7,  Phora 
larva;  8,  Wheat  Caterpillar;  9,  Sphinx  Caterpillar;  10,  Acronycta?  larva;  11,  Saw 
Fly  larva;  12,  Abia  Saw  Fly  larva;  13,  Halictus  larva;  14,  Andreua  larva. 

177 


178  HINTS   ON  THE  .ANCESTRY   OF  INSECTS. 

the  still  lower  maggot-like  forms.  "While  oh  the  one  hand  Cam- 
podea,  with  its  abdominal  feet,  and  the  larva  of  Lithobius  are 
related,  so  on  the  other  the  Lepismatidae,  which  are  very  near 
the  Blattarise,  are  nearly  related  to  the  Myriopods,  since  their 
abdominal  segments  often  bear  appendages  (Machilis).  The 
Campodea-form  appears  in  most  of  the  Pseudoneuroptera  [Libel- 
lulids,  Ephemerids,  Perlids,  Psocids  and  Termes],  Orthoptera, 
Coleoptera,  Neuroptera,  perhaps  modified  in  the  Strepsiptera 
[Stylops  and  Xenos]  and  Coccidse  in  their  first  stage  of  devel- 
opment, and  indeed  in  many  of  these  at  their  first  moult." 
Farther  on  he  says,  "A  larger  part  of  the  most  highly  developed 
insects  assume  another  larva-form,  which  appears  not  only  as  a 
later  acquisition,  through  accommodation  with  certain  definite 
relations,  but  "also  arises  as  such  before  our  eyes.  The  Iarya3  of 
butterflies  and  moths,  of  saw  flies  and  Panorpa},show 
the  form  most  distinctly,  and  I  call  this  the  caterpillar 
form  (Raupenform).  That  this  is  not  the  primitive 
form,  but  one  later  acquired,  we  see  in  the  beetles. 
The  larvae  of  Meloe  and  Sitaris  in  their  fully  grown 
condition  possess  the  caterpillar  form,  but  the  new- 
born larvae  of  these  genera  show  the  Campodea  form. 
The  last  form  is  lost  as  soon  as  the  larva  begins  its 
parasitic  mode  of  life.  *  *  *  The  larger  part  of  the 
beetles,  the  Neuroptera  in  part,  the  bees  and  flies 
(the  last  with  the  most  degraded  maggot  form)  pos- 
sess larvae  of  this  second  form."  He  considers  that 
204.  Tipula  the  caterpillar  form  is  a  degraded  Campodea  form,  the 
Larva.  resuit  of  its  stationary  life  in  plants  or  in  wood. 
3Tor  reasons  which  we  will  not  pause  here  to  discuss,  we  have 
always  regarded  the  cruciform  type  of  larva  as  the  highest. 
That  it  is  the  result  of  degradation  from  the  Leptus  or  Cam- 
podea form,  we  should  be  unwilling  to  admit,  though  the  mag- 
gots of  flies  have  perhaps  retrograded  from  such  forms  as  the 
larvae  of  the  mosquitoes  and  crane  flies  (Tipulids,  Fig.  204). 

That  the  cylindrical  form  of  the  bee  grub  and  caterpillar  is 
the  result  of  modification  through  descent  is  evident  in  the  cat- 
erpillar-like form  of  the  immature  Caddis  fly  (PI.  3,  fig.  2).  Here 
the  fundamental  characters  of  the  larva  are  those  of  the  Cory- 
dalus  and  Sialis  and  Panorpa,  types  of  closely  allied  groups. 
The  features  that  remind  us  of  caterpillars  are  superadded, 
evidently  the  result  of  the  peculiar  tube- inhabiting  habits  of 


ORIGIN    OF   THE  KRUCIFORM  TYPE.  179 

the  young  Caddis  fly.  In  like  manner  the  caterpillar-form  is 
probably  the  result  of  the  leaf-eating  life  of  a  primitive  Lepti- 
form  larva.  In  like  manner  the  soft-bodied  maggot  of  the 
weevil  is  evidently  the  result  of  its  living  habitually  in  cavities 
in  nuts  and  fruits.  Did  the  soft,  baggy  female  Stylops  live 
exposed,  like  its  allies  in  other  families,  to  an  out-of-doors  life, 
its  skin  would  inevitably  become  hard  and  chitinous.  In  these 
and  multitudes  of  other  cases  the  adaptation  of  the  form  of  the 
insect  to  its  mode  of  life  is  one  of  cause  and  effect,  and  not  a 
bit  less  wonderful  after  we  know  what  induced  the  change  of 
form. 

Having  endeavored  to  show  that  the  caterpillar  is  a  later 
production  than  the  young,  wingless  cockroach,  with  which 
geological  facts  harmonize,  we  have  next  to  account  for  the 
origin  of  a  metamorphosis  in  insects.  Here  it  is  necessary  to 
disabuse  the  reader's  mind  of  the  prevalent  belief  that  the 
terms  larva,  pupa  and  imago  are  fixed  and  absolute.  If  we 
examine  at  a  certain  season  the  nest  of  a  humble  bee,  we  shall 
find  the  occupants  in  every  stage  of  growth  from  the  egg  to  the 
pupa,  and  even  to  the  perfectly  formed  bee  ready  to  break  out  of 
its  larval  cell.  So  slight  are  the  differences  between  the  differ- 
ent stages  that  it  is  difficult  to  say  where  the  larval  stage  ends 
and  the  pupa  begins,  so  also  where  the  pupal  state  ends  and  the 
imago  begins.  The  following  figures  (205-208)  will  show  four 
of  the  most  characteristic  stages  of  growth,  but  it  should  be 
remembered  that  there  are  intermediate  stages  between.  Now 
we  have  noticed  similar  stages  in  the  growth  of  a  moth,  though 
a  portion  of  them  are  concealed  beneath  the  hard,  dense  chrys- 
alis skin.  The  external  differences  between  the  larval  and  pupal 
states  are  fixed  for  a  large  part  of  the  year  in  most  butterflies 
and  moths,  though  even  in  this  respect  there  is  every  possible 
variation,  some  moths  or  butterflies  passing  through  their  trans- 
formations in  a  few  weeks,  others  requiring  several  months, 
while  still  others  take  a  year,  the  majority  of  the  moths  living 
under  ground  in  the  pupa  state  for  eight  or  nine  months.  The 
stages  of  metamorphosis  in  the  Diptera  are  no  more  suddenly 
acquired  than  in  the  bee  or  butterfly.  In  all  these  insects  the 
rudiments  of  the  wings,  legs,  and  even  of  the  ovipositor  of  the 
adult  exist  in  the  young  larva.  We  have  found  somewhat  simi- 
lar intermediate  stages  in  the  metamorphoses  of  the  beetles. 
The  insects  we  have  mentioned  are  those  with  a  "complete 


180 


HINTS   ON  THE  ANCESTRY   OF  INSECTS. 


metamorphosis."  We  have  seen  that  even  in  them  the  term 
"complete"  is  a  relative  and  not  absolute  expression,  and  that 
the  terms  larva  and  pupa  are  convenient  designations  for  states 
varying  in  duration,  and  assumed  to  fulfil  certain  ends  of  exis- 
tence, and  even  then  dependent  on  length  of  seasons,  variation 
in  climate,  and  even  on  the  locality.  When  we  descend  to  the 
insects  with  an  "incomplete"  metamorphosis,  as  in  the  May  fly, 


206.  Semi-pupa. 


207.  Advanced  Semi-pupa.  208.  Pupa. 

EARLY  STAGES  OF  THE  HUMBLE  BEE. 

we  find  that,  as  in  the  case  of  Chloeon,  Sir  John  Lubbock  has 
described  twenty-one  stages  of  existence,  and  let  him  who  can 
say  where  the  larval  ends  and  the  pupal  or  imaginal  stages 
begin.  So  in  a  stronger  sense  with  the  grasshopper  and  cock- 
roach. The  adult  state  in  these  insects  is  attained  after  a 
number  of  moults  of  the  skin,  during  each  of  which  the  insect 
gradually  draws  nearer  to  the  final  winged  form.  But  even  the 


ORIGIN   OF   A  METAMORPHOSIS.  181 

so-called  pupae,  or  half  winged  individuals  known  not  to  be 
adult,  in  some  cases  feel  the  sexual  impulse,  while  a  number  of 
species  in  each  of  the  families  represented  by  these  two  insects 
never  acquire  wings. 

Still  how  did  the  perfect  metamorphosis  arise?  We  can  only 
answer  this  indirectly  by  pointing  to  the  Panorpa  and  Caddis 
flies,  with  their  nearly  perfect  metamorphosis,  though  more 
nearly  allied  otherwise  to  those  Neuroptera  with  an  incomplete 
metamorphosis,  as  the  lace-winged  fly,  than  the  insects  of  any 
other  suborder.  If,  among  a  group  of  insects  such  as  the  Neu- 
roptera, we  find  different  families  with  all  grades  of  perfection 
in  metamorphosis,  it  is  possible  that  larger  and  higher  groups 
may  exist  in  which  these  modes  of  metamorphosis  may  be  fixed 
and  characteristic  of  each.  Had  we  more  space  for  the  exposi- 
tion of  many  known  facts,  the  sceptic  might  perceive  that  by 
observing  how  arbitrary  and  dependent  on  the  habits  of  the 
insects  are  the  metamorphoses  of  some  groups,  the  fixed  modes 
of  other  and  more  general  groups  may  be  seen  to  be  probably 
due  to  biological  causes,  or  in  other  words  have  been  acquired 
through  changes  of  habits  or  of  the  temperature  of  the  seasons 
and  of  climates.  Many  facts  crowd  upon  us,  which  might  serve 
as  illustrations  and  proofs  of  the  position  we  have  taken.  For 
instance,  though  we  have  in  tropics  rainy  and  dry  seasons  when, 
in  the  latter,  insects  remain  quiescent  in  the  chrysalis  state  as  in 
the  temperate  and  frigid  zones,  yet  did  not  the  change  from  the 
earlier  ages  of  the  globe,  when  the  temperature  of  the  earth 
was  nearly  the  same  the  world  over,  to  the  times  of  the  present 
distribution  of  heat  and  cold  in  zones,  possibly  have  its  influence 
on  the  metamorphoses  of  insects  and  other  animals?  It  is  a 
fact  that  the  remains  of  those  insects  with  a  complete  meta- 
morphosis (the  bees,  butterflies  and  moths,  flies  and  beetles) 
abound  most  in  the  later  deposits,  while  those  with  an  incom- 
plete metamorphosis  are  fewer  in  number  and  the  earliest  to 
appear.  Again,  certain  groups  of  insects  are  not  found  in  the 
polar  regions.  Their  absence  is  evidently  due  to  the  adverse 
climatic  conditions  of  those  regions.  The  development  of  the 
same  groups  is  striking  in  the  tropics,  where  the  sum  of  envi- 
roning conditions  all  tend  to  favor  the  multiplication  of  insect 
forms. 

It  should  be  observed  that  some  insects,  as  the  grasshopper, 
for  example,  as  Miiller  says,  "quit  the  egg  in  a  form  which  is  dis- 
16 


182  HINTS  ON   THE  ANCESTRY  OF  INSECTS. 

tinguished  from  that  of  the  adult  insect  almost  solely  by  the  want 
of  wings,"  while  the  freshly  hatched  young  of  the  bee,  we  may 
add,  is  farthest  from  the  form  of  the  adult.  It  is  evident  that  in 
the  young  grasshoppers,  the  metamorphoses  have  been  passed 
through,  so  to  speak,  in  the  egg,  while  the  bee  larva  is  almost 
embryonic  in  its  build.  The  helpless  young  maggot  of  the 
wasp,  which  is  fed  solely  by  the  parent,  may  be  compared  to 
the  human  infant,  while  the  lusty  young  grasshopper,  which 
immediately  on  hatching  takes  to  the  grass  or  clover  field  with 
all  the  enthusiasm  of~a  duckling  to  its~~native  ^oud,  may  be 
likened  to  that  young  feathered  mariner.  The  lowest  animals, 
as  a  rule,  are  at  birth  most  like  the  adult.  So  with  the  earliest 
known  Crustacea.  The  king  crabs,  and  in  all  probability  the 
primeval  trilobites,  passed  through  their  metamorphoses  chiefly 
in  the  egg.  So  in  the  ancient  Nebaliads  (Peltocaris,  Discino- 
caris  and  Ceratiocaris),  if  we  may  follow  the  analogy  of  the 
recent  Nebalia,  the  young  probably  closely  resembled  the  adult, 
while  the  living  crabs  and  shrimps  usually 
pass  through  the  most  marked  metamor-, 
phoses.  Among  the  worms,  the  highest, 
and  perhaps  the  most  recent  forms,  pass 
through  the  most  remarkable  metamor- 
phoses. 
Jaws  of  Ant  Lion.  ; 

Another  puzzle  for  the  evolutionist  to 

solve  is  how  to  account  for  the  change  from  the  caterpillar 
with  its  powerful  jaws,  to  the  butterfly  with  its  sucking  or 
haustellate  mouth-parts.  We  shall  best  approach  the  solution 
of  this  difficult  problem  by  a  study  of  a  wide  range  of  facts,  but 
a  few  of  which  can  be  here  noticed.  The  older  entomologists 
divided  insects  into  haustellate  or  suctorial,  and  mandibulate  or 
biting  insects,  the  butterfly  being  an  example  of  one,  and  the 
beetle  serving  to  illustrate  the  other  category.  But  we  shall 
find  in  studying  the  different  groups  that  these  are  relative  and 
not  absolute  terms.  We  find  mandibulate  insects  with  enor- 
mous jaws,  like  the  Dytiscus,  or  Chrysopa  larva  or  ant  lion, 
perforated,  as  in  the  former,  or  enclosing,  as  in  the  latter  two  in- 
sects, the  maxillae  (7>),  which  slide  backward  and  forward  within 
the  hollowed  mandibles  (a,  Fig.  209,  jaws  of  the  ant  lion),  along 
which  the  blood  of  their  victims  flows.  They  suck  the  blood,  and 
do  not  tear  the  flesh  of  their  prey.  The  enormous  mandibles  of 
the  adult  Corydalus  are  too  large  for  use  and,  as  Walsh  observed, 


ORIGIN   OP   SUCKING  MOUTH-PARTS. 


183 


210.  Mouth-parts  of  the 
House  fly. 


are  converted  in  the  male  into  simple  clasping  organs.  And  to 
omit  a  number  of  instances,  in  the  suctorial  Hemiptera  or  bugs 
we  have  different  grades  of  structure  in  the  mouth-parts.  In 
the  biting  lice  (Mallophaga)  the  mouth  is  mandibulate,  in  the 
Thrips  it  is  mandibulate,  the  jaws  being  free,  and  the  maxillae 
bearing  palpi,  while  the  Pediculi  are 
suctorial,  and  the  true  bugs  are  emi- 
nently so.  But  in  the  bed  bug  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  the  beak  is  made  up  of 
the  two  pairs  of  jaws,  which  are  sim- 
ply elongated  and  adapted  for  piercing 
and  sucking.  Among  the  so-called 
haustellate  insects  the  mouth-parts 
vary  so  much  in  different  groups,  and 
such  different  organs  separately  or 
combined  perform  the  function  of 
sucking,  that  the  term  haustellate 
loses  its  significance  and  even  mis- 
leads the  student.  For  example,  in 
the  house  fly  the  tongue  (Fig.  210  I, 
the  mandibles,  m,  and  maxillae,  mp,  are  useless),  a  fleshy  pro- 
longation of  the  labium  or  second  maxillae,  is  the  sucker,  while 
the  mandibles  and  maxillae  are  used  as  lancets  by  the  horse  fly 
(Fig.  211,  m,  mandibles,  mx,  maxillae).  The  maxillae  in  the  but- 
terfly are  united  to  form  the  sucking  tube,  while  in  the  bee  the 
end  of  the  labium  (Fig.  212)  is  specially 
adapted  for  lapping,  not  sucking,  the  nectar 
of  flowers.  But  even  in  the  butterfly,  or 
more  especially  the  moth,  there  is  a  good 
deal  of  misapprehension  about  the  structure 
of  the  so-called  "tongue."  The  mouth-parts 
of  the  caterpillar  exist  in  the  moth.  The 
mandibles  of  the  caterpillar  occur  in  the 
head  of  the  moth  as  two  small  tubercles 
(Fig.  213,  w).  They  are  aborted  in  the 
adult.  While  the  maxillae  are  as  a  rule 
greatly  developed  in  the  moth,  in  the  cater- 
pillar they  are  minute  and  almost  useless.  The  labium  or  sec- 
ond maxillae,  so  large  in  the  moth,  serves  simply  as  a  spinneret 
in  the  caterpillar.  But  we  find  a  great  amount  of  variation  in  the 
tongue  or  sucker  of  moths,  and  in  the  silk  moths  the  maxillae 


211.  Mouth-parts  of 
Horse  fly. 


184 


HINTS   ON  THE  ANCESTRY  OF  INSECTS. 


are  rudimentary,  and  there  is  no  tongue,  these  organs  being  but 
little  more  developed  than  in  the  caterpillar.  Figure  213,  B, 

shows  the  minute 
blade-like  maxilla 
of  the  magnificent 
Luna  moth,  an  ap- 
proximation to  the 
originally  blade- 
like  form  in  beetles 
and  Neuroptera. 
The  maxillae  i  n 
this  insect  are 
minute,  rudimen- 
tary, and  of  no 

•X^S&b,  A    service  to  the  crea- 

ture, which  does 
not  take  food.  In 
other  moths  of  the 
same  family  we 
have  found  the 
maxilla  longer, 
and  touching  at 
212.  Head  of  Humble  bee.  tiieir  tipSj  though 

too  widely  separate  at  base  to  form  a  sucking  tube,  while  in 
others  the  maxillae  are  curved,  and  meet  to  form  a  true  tube. 

In    the    Ce- 

cropia  moth  it  x<^--':=~"\"\   A 

is  difficult  to 
trace  the  rudi- 
ments of  the 
maxillae  at  all, 
and  thus  we 
have  in  the 
whole  range 
of  the  moths, 
every  grada- 
tion from  the 
wholly  aborted 

maxillae  of  the  Platysamia  Cecropia,  to  those  of  Macrosila  clu- 
entius  of  Madagascar,  which  form  a  tongue,  according  to  Mr. 
Wallace,  nine  and  a  quarter  inches  in  length,  probably  to  enable 


213.  Mouth-parts  of  Moths. 


ORIGIN  OP  THE  STING.  185 

their  owner  to  probe  the  deep  nectaries  of  certain  orchids. 
These  changes  in  form  and  size  are  certainly  correlated  with 
important  differences  in  habits,  and  the  evolutionist  can  as 
rightly  say  that  the  structural  changes  were  induced  by  use  and 
disuse  and  change  of  habits  and  the  environment  of  the  animal, 
as  on  the  other  hand  the  advocate  of  special  creation  claims 
that  the  two  are  simply  correlated,  and  that'  is  all  we  know 
about  it. 

Another  set  of  organs,  placed  on  quite  another  region  of  the 
body,  unite  to  form  the  sting  of  the  bee,  or  its  equivalent  the 
ovipositor  of  other  hymenopterous  insects,  such  as  the  Ichneu- 
mon fly  (Fig.  214),  the  "saw"  of  the  saw  fly,  and  the  augur  of 
the  Cicada.  These  are  all  formed  on  the  same  plan,  arising 
early  in  the  larval  stage  as  three  pairs  of  little  tubercles,  which 
ultimately  form  long  blades,  the  inner- 
most constituting  the  true  ovipositor. 
We  have  found  that  one  pair  of  these 
organs  forms  the  "spring"  of  the  Po- 
dura,  and  that  in  these  insects  it  is 
three  jointed,  and  thus  is  morphologi- 
cally a  pair  of  legs  soldered  together 
at  their  base.  We  would  venture  to 
regard  the  ovipositor  of  insects  as 
probably  representing  three  pairs  of 
abdominal  legs,  comparable  with 
those  of  the  Myriopods,  and  even,  as 

we  have  suggested  in  another  place,  the  three  pairs  of  jointed 
spinnerets  of  spiders.  Thus  the  ovipositor  of  the  bee  has  a  his- 
tory, and  is  not  apparently  a  special  creation,  but  a  structure 
gradually  developed  to  subserve  the  use  of  a  defensive  organ. 

So  the  organs  of  special  sense  in  insects  are  in  most  cases 
simply  altered  hairs.  The  hairs  themselves  are  modified  epithe- 
lial cells.  The  eyes  of  insects,  simple  and  compound,  are  at 
first  simply  epithelial  cells,  modified  for  a  special  purpose,  and 
even  the  egg  is  but  a  modified  epithelial  cell  attached  to  the 
walls  of  the  .ovary,  which  in  turn  is  morphologically  but  a  gland. 
Thus  Nature  deals  in  simples,  and  with  her  units  of  structure 
elaborates  as  her  crowning  work  a  temple  in  which  the  mind  of 
man,  formed  in  the  image  of  God,  may  dwell.  Her  results  are 
not  the  less  marvellous  because  we  are  beginning  to  dimly  trace 
the  process  by  which  they  arise.  It  should  not  lessen  our  awe 


186  HINTS   ON    THE  ANCESTRY   OF  INSECTS. 

and  reverence  for  Deity,  if  with  minds  made  to  adore,  we  also 
essay  to  trace  the  movements  of  His  hand  in  the  origin  of  the 
forms  of  life. 

Some  writers  of  the  evolution  school  are  strenuous  in  the 
belief  that  the  evolution  hypothesis  overthrows  the  idea  of 
archetypes,  and  plans  of  structure.  But  a  true  'genealogy  of  ani- 
mals and  plants  represents  a  natural  system,  and  the  types  of 
animals,  be  they  four,  as  Cuvier  taught,  or  five,  or  more,  are 
recognized  by  naturalists  through  the  study  of  dry,  hard,  ana- 
tomical facts.  Accepting,  then,  the  type  of  articulates  as 
founded  in  nature  from  the  similar  modes  of  development  and 
points  of  structure  perceived  between  the  worms  and  the  crus- 
tacea  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  worms  and  insects  on  the  other, 
have  we  not  a  strong  genetic  bond  uniting  these  three  great 
groups  into  one  grand  subkingdom,  ami  can  we  not  in  imagina- 
tion perceive  the  successive  steps  by  which  the  Creator,  acting 
through  the  laws  of  evolution,  has  built  up  the  great  articulate 
division  of  the  animal  kingdom? 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

INSECT    CALENDAR. 

IN  this  calendar  I  propose  to  especially  notice  the  injurious 
insects.  References  to  the  times  of  their  appearance  must  be 
necessarily  vague,  and  apply  only,  in  a  very  general  way,  to  the 
Northern  States.  Insects  appear  in  Texas  about  six  weeks 
earlier  than  in  Virginia,  in  the  Middle  States  six  weeks  earlier 
than  in  northern  New  England  and  the  North-western  States, 
and  in  New  England  about  six  weeks  earlier  than  in  Labrador. 
The  time  of  the  appearance  of  insects  corresponds  to  the  time 
of  the  fl5wering  or  leafing  out  of  certain  trees  and  herbs ;  for 
instance,  the  larvae  of  the  American  Tent  caterpillar  and  of  the 
Canker  worm  hatch  just  as  the  apple  tree  "begins  to  leaf  out;  a 
little  later  the  Plant  lice  appear,  to  feast  on  the  tender  leaves ; 
and  when,  during  the  first  week  in  June,  our  forests  and  or- 
chards are  fully  leafed  out,  hosts  of  insects  are  marshalled  to 
ravage  and  devour  their  foliage. 

The  Insects  of  Early  Spring. « 

In  April  the  gardener  should  scrape  and  wash  thoroughly  all 
his  fruit  trees,  so  as  to  rub  off  the  eggs  of  the  bark  lice  which 
hatch  out  early  in  May.  Many  injurious  caterpillars  and  insects 
of  all  kinds  winter  under  loose  pieces  of  bark,  or  under  matting 
and  straw  at  the  base  of  the  trees.  Search  should  also  be  made 
for  the  eggs  of  the  Canker  worm  and  the  American  Tent  cater- 
pillar, which  last  are  laid  in  bunches  half  an  inch  long  on  the 
terminal  shoots  of  many  of  our  fruit  trees.  A  little  labor  spent 
in  this  way  will  save  many  dollars'  worth  of  fruit.  The  "cast- 
ings" of  the  Apple  Tree  Borer  (Saperda  bivittata)  should  be 
looked  for  at  the  base  of  the  tree,  and  its  ravages  be  promptly 

(187) 


188 


INSECT   CALENDAR. 


215.  Pea  Weevil  and  Maggot. 


arrested.  Its  presence  can  also  be  detected,  it  is  said,  by  the 
dark  appearance  of  the  bark,  where  the  grub  is  at  work :  cut  in 
and  pull  out  the  young  grub.  It  is  the  best  time  of  the  year  to 
catch  and  kill  this  pest.  Cylindrical  bark  borers,  which  are  lit- 
tle round,  black,  weevil-like  beetles,  often  causing  "fire-blight" 
in  pears,  etc.,  are  now  flying  about  fruit  trees  to  lay  their  eggs; 

and  many  other  weevils 
and  boring  beetles,  espe- 
cially the  Pea  weevil  (Bru- 
chus  pisi,  Fig.  215),  the 
Pine  weevil  (Pissodes  stro- 
bi,  Fig.  216),  and  Hylobius 
pales  and  Hylurgus  tere- 
brans,  also  infesting  the 
pine,  now  abound,  and  the 
collector  can  obtain  many 
specimens  not  met  with  at 
other  times. 

The  housewife  must  now  guard  against  the  intrusion  of 
Clothes  moths  (Tinea),  white  many  other  species  of  minute 
moths  (Tineids)  and  of  Leaf-rollers  (Tortricida?)  will  be  flying 
about  orchards  and  gardens  just  as  the  buds  are  beginning  to 
unfold;  especially  the  Coddling  moth  (Carpocapsa  pomonella). 
On  warm  days  myriads  of  these  and  other  insects  may  be  seen 
filling  the  air;  it  is  the  busiest  time  of  their  lives,  as  all  are  on 
errands  of  love  to  their 
kind,  but  of  mischief  to 
the  agriculturist. 

When  the  May  Flower 
— "O  commendable  flowre 
and  most  in  minde"  — 
blooms,  and  the  willows 
hang  out  their  golden  cat- 
kins, we  shall  hear  the  '6 
hum  of  the  wild  bee,  and  21G-  pi»e  WeevU  and  Young, 
the  insect  hunter  will  reap  a  rich  harvest  of  rarities.  Seek  now 
on  the  abdomen  of  various  wild  bees,  such  as  Andrena,  for  that 
most  eccentric  of  all  our  insects,  the  Stylops  Children!.  The 
curious  larva?  of  the  Oil  beetle  may  be  found  abundantly  on  the 
bodies  of  various  species  of  Bombus,  Andrena  and  Halictus,  with 
their  heads  plunged  in  between  the  segments  of  the  bee's  body. 


THE  INSECTS  OF  EARLY   SPRING. 


189 


The  beautiful  moth,  Adela,  with  its  immensely  long  antennas, 
may  be  seen,  with  other  smaller  moths,  feeding  on  the  blossoms 
of  the  willow.  The 
Ants  wake  from 
their  winter's  sleep 
and  throw  up  their 
hillocks,  and  the 
"thriving  pismire" 
issues  from  his 
vaulted  galleries 
constructed  in  some 
decaying  log  or 
stump,  while  the 
Angle  worms  emu-  217.  The  Comma  Butterfly. 

late  their  six- footed  neighbors.  During  the  mild  days  of 
March,  ere  the  snow  has  melted  away — 

"The  dandy  Butterfly, 
All  exquisitely  drest,"         • 

will  visit  our  gardens.  Such  are  various  kinds  of  Vanessa  and 
Grapta  (Fig.  217,  G.  c-argenteum*).  The  beautiful  Brephos  in- 
faiis  flies  before  the  snow  disappears. 

"The  Gnat,  old  back-bent  fellow, 
In  frugal  frieze  coat  drest," 

will, celebrate  the  coming  of  Spring,  with  his  choral  dance. 

Such  is  Trichocera  hyemalis,  which  may  be  seen  in  multitudes 

towards  twilight  on  mild  even- 
ings. Many  flies  are  now  on  the 
wing,  such  as  Tachina  (Fig.  218) 
and  its  allies ;  the  four  spotted 
Mosquito,  Anopheles  quadri- 
macuhitus,  and  the  delicate  spe- 
cies of  Chironomus,  whose 
males  have  such  beautifully 
feathered  antennae,  assemble  in 
swarms.  Now  is  the  time  for 
the  collector  to  turn  up  stones 
and  sticks  by  the  river's  side 

and  in  grassy  damp  pastures,  for  Ground  beetles  (Carabidae), 

and  to  frequent  sunny  paths  for  the  gay  Cicindela  and  the  Bom- 


218.  Tachina. 


'The  right  side  represents  the  under  side  of  the  wings. 


190 


INSECT   CALENDAR. 


bylius  fly,  or  fish  in  brooks  and  pools  for  water  beetles  and 
various  larvae  of  Neuroptera  and  Diptera;  while  many  flies 
and  beetles  are  attracted  to  freshly  cut  maples  or  birches  run- 
ning with  sap;  indeed,  many  insects,  rarely  found  elsewhere, 
assemble  in  quantities  about  the  stumps  of  these  trees,  from 
which  the  sap  oozes  in  March  and  April. 

In  April  the  injurious  insects  in  the  Northern  States  have 
scarcely  begun  their  work  of  destruction,  as  the  buds  do  not 
unfold  before  the  first  of'May.  We  give  an  account,  however, 
of  some  of  the  beneficial  insects  which  are  now  to  be  found  in 
grass-lands  and  in  gardens.  The  farmer  should  know  his  true 
insect  friends  as  well  as  his  insect  foes.  Wo  introduce  to  our 
readers  a  large  family  of  ground-beetles  (Carabidae,  from  Cara- 


319.  Calosoma  scrutator. 


220.  Calosoma  calidum  and  Larva. 


bus,  the  name  of  the  typical  genus)  which  prey  on  those  insects 
largely  injurious  to  crops.  A  study  of  the  figures  will  famil- 
iarize our  readers  with  the  principal  forms.  They  are  dark- 
colored,  brown  or  black,  with  metallic  hues,  and  are  seen  in 
spring  and  throughout  the  summer,  running  in  grass,  or  lurking 
under  stones  and  sticks  in  damp  places,  whence  they  sally  forth 
to  hunt  by  night,  when  many  vegetable-eating  insects  are  most 
active. 

The  larvae  are  found  in  much  the  same  situations  as  the 
mature  beetles.  They  are  elongate,  oblong,  and  rather  broad, 
the  terminal  ring  of  the  body  being  armed  with  two  horny 
hooks,  and  having  a  single  fleshy  leg  beneath ;  and  are  usually 
black  in  color.  The  larva  of  Calosoma  (C.  calidum,  Fig.  220 ;  a, 


THE  INSECTS   OF   EARLY   SPRING. 


191 


the  beetle ;  and  Fig.  219,  C.  scrutator)  ascends  trees  to  feed  on 
caterpillars,  such  as  the  Canker  worm.  When  about  to  trans- 
form to  the  pupa  state,  it  forms  a  rude  cocoon  in  the  earth. 
The  beetle  lies  in  wait  for  its  prey  in  shallow  pits  excavated  in 
pastures.  We  once  saw  it  fiercely 
attack  a  May  beetle  (Lachnosterna 
fusca)  nearly  twice  its  size ;  it  tore 
open  the  hard  sides  of  its  clumsy 
and  helpless  victim  with  tiger-like 
ferocity.  Carabus  (Fig.  221,  C. 
serratus  Say,  and  pupa  of  Carabus 
auronitens  of  Europe,  after  West- 
wood)  is  a  closely  allied  form,  with 
very  similar  habits. 

A  much  smaller  form  is  the  curi- 
ous Bombardier  beetle,  Brachinus  « 
(Fig.  222,  B.  fumans),  with  its  nar-         221<  Carabus  and  Pupa, 
row  head  and  heart-shaped   prothorax.    It  is  remarkable  for 
discharging  wi£h  quite  an  explosion  from  the  end  of  its  body 
a  pungent  fluid,  probably  as  a  protection  against  its  enemies. 
An  allied  genus  is  Casnonia  (Fig.  223,  C.  Pensylvanica),  which 


has  a  long  neck  and  spotted  wing  covers.  Figure  224,  Pangus 
caliginosus,  and  figure  225,  Agonum  cupripenne,  represent  two 
common  forms.  The  former  is  black,  while  the  latter  is  a  pretty 
insect,  greenish,  with  purplish-red  wing-covers,  and  black  legs. 


192  INSECT   CALENDAR. 

Figure  226,  enlarged  about  three  times,  represents  a  singular 
larva  found  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Emerton  under  a  stone  early  in  spring. 
Dr.  LeConte,  to  whom  we  sent  a  figure,  supposes  that  it  may 
possibly  be  a  larva  of  Harpalus,  or  Pangus  caliginosus.  It  is 
evidently  a  young  Carabid.  The  under  side  is  represented. 

The  Insects  of  May. 

During  this  month  there  is  great  activity  among  the  insects. 
As  the  flowers  bloom  and  the  leaves  appear,  multitudes  wake 
from  their  long  winter  sleep,  and  during  this  month  pass  through 
the  remainder  of  their  transformations,  and  prepare  for  the  sum- 
mer campaign.  Most  insects  hibernate  in  the  chrysalis  or  pupa 
state,  while  many  winter  in  the  caterpillar  or  larva  state,  such 
as  the  larva?  of  several  Noctuidae  and  the  "yellow-bear,"  and 
other  caterpillars  of  Arctia  and  its  allies.  Other  insects  hiber- 
nate in  the  adult  or  imago  form,  either  as  beetles,  butterflies  or 
certain  species  of  bees. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Queen  Humble  bee  winters  under 
the  moss,  or  in  her  old  nest.  During  the  present  month  her 
rovings  seem  to  have  a  more  definite  object,  and  she  seeks  some 
deserted  mouse's  nest,  or  hollow  in  a  tree  or  stump,  and  there 
stows  away  her  pellets  of  pollen,  containing  two  or  three  eggs 
apiece,  which,  late  in  the  summer,  are  to  form  the  nucleus  of  a 
well-appointed  colony.  The  Carpenter  bees  (Ceratina  and  Xylo- 
copa,  the  latter  of  which  is  found  in  abundance  south  of  New 
England)  are  busy  in  refitting  and  tunnelling  the  hollows  of  the 
grape;  while  the  Ceratina  hollows  out  the  stem  of  the  elder, 
or  blackberry.  This  little  upholsterer  bee  carpets  her  honey- 
tight  apartment,  storing  it  with  food  for  her  young,  and  later  in 
the  season,  in  June,  several  of  these  cartridge-like  cells,  whose 
silken  walls  resemble  the  finest  and  most  delicate  parchment, 
may  be  found  in  the  hollow  stems  of  these  plants.  The  Mason 
bee  (Osmia)  places  her  nest  in  a  more  exposed  site,  building 
her  earthen  cells  of  pellets  of  moistened  mud,  either  situated 
under  a  stone,  or  in  some  more  sheltered  place ;  for  instance,  in 
a  deserted  oak-gall,  ranging  half  a  dozen  of  them  side  by  side 
along  the  vault  of  this  strange  domicile.  Meanwhile  their  more 
lowly  relatives,  the  Andrena  and  Halictus  bees,  are  engaged  in 
tunnelling  the  side  of  some  sunny  bank  or  path,  running  long 
galleries  underground,  sometimes  for  a  foot  or  more,  at  the 
farthest  end  of  which  are  to  be  found,  in  summer,  little  earthen 


THE  INSECTS   OF   MAY. 


193 


urn-like  cells,  in  which  the  grubs  live  upon  the  pollen  stored 

up  for  them  in  little  balls  of  the  size  of  a  pea.     Later  in  the 

month,  the  Gall  flies  (Cynips), 

those    physiological    puzzles, 

sting  the   leaves   o/   our   oaks 

of  different  species,  giving  rise 

to  the  strange  excrescences  and 

manifold     deformities     which 

deface    the    stems    and    leaves 

of   our    most    beautiful    forest 

trees  227.  Chrysophanus  Thoe.* 

When  the  Kalmia,  Khodora,  and  wild  cherries  are  in  bloom, 
many  of  our  most  beautiful  butterflies   appear;   such  are  the 


228.  Argynnis  Aphrodite. 

different  species  of  Chrysophanus  (Fig.  227),  Lycasna,  Thecla  and 
Argynnis  (Fig.  228).     At  this  time  we  have  found  the  rare  larva 

of  Melitaea  Phaeton 
(Fig.  229)  clothed  in 
the  richest  red  and 
velvety  black,  feed- 
ing daintily  upon 
the  hazel  nut,  and 
tender  leaves  of  the 
golden  rod.  In  June, 
it  changes  to  the 
229.  Melitaea  Phaeton.  chrysalis  state,  and 

early  in  July  the  butterfly  rises  from  the  cold,  damp  bogs,  where 


*The  lower  side  of  the  wings  is  figured  on  the  right  side  of  this  and  Figs.  2*28  and  229. 
•     17 


194 


INSECT   CALENDAR. 


we  have  oftenest  found  it,  clad  in  its  rich  dress  of  velvety  black 
and  red. 

Later  still,  when  the  lilac  blooms,  and  farther  south  the  broad- 
^  leaved  Kalmia,  the  gaily-colored  Hum- 
ming Bird  moth  (Sesia)  visits  the  flowers 
in  company  with  the  Swallow-tail  butter- 
fly (Papilio  Turiius).  At  twilight,  the 
Hawk  moth  (Sphinx)  darts  noiselessly 
through  our  gardens,  as  soon  as  the  hon- 
eysuckles, pinks  and  lilies  are  in  blossom. 
Among  the  flies,  mosquitoes  now  appear,  though  they  have 
not  yet,  perhaps,  strayed  far  from  their  native  swamps  and  fens ; 
and  their  mammoth  allies,  the 
Daddy-long-legs  (Tipula),  rise 
from  the  fields  and  mould  of 
our  gardens  in  great  num- 
bers. 

Of  the  beetles,  those  which 
feed  on  leaves  now  become 
specially  active.  The  Squash 
beetle  (Diabrotica  viltata,  Fig. 
231,  and  Fig.  230,  D.  12-punc- 
tata)  now  attacks  the  squash 
plants  before  they  are  fairly 
up ;  and  the  Plum  weevil  (Con- 
otrachelus  nenuphar,  Fig.  232)  will  sting  the  newly  formed 
fruit,  late  in  the  mouth,  or  early  in  June.  Many  other  weevils 
now  abound,  stinging  the  seeds  and 
fruit,  and  depositing  their  eggs  just 
under  the  skin.  So  immense  are  the 
numbers  of  insects  which  fill  the  air 
and  enliven  the  fields  and  woodlands 
just  as  summer  comes  in,  that  a  bare 
enumeration  of  them  would  overcrowd 
our  pages,  and  tire  the  reader. 

A  word,  however,  about  our  water 
insects.  Late  in  the  month  the  May  fly 
(Ephemera,  Fig.  233)  appears,  often 
rising  in  immense  numbers,  from  the 
surface  of  pools  and  sluggish  brooks.  In  Europe,  whole  clouds 
of  these  delicate  forms,  with  their  thin  white  wings,  have  been 


& 

Fig.  232.  Plum  .Weevil  and  Young. 


233.  May  Fly. 


THE  INSECTS   OF  MAY.  195 

known  to  fall  like  snow  upon  the  ground,  when  the  peasants 
gather  them  up  in  heaps  to  enrich  their  gardens  and  farms. 

The  Case  worms,  or  Caddis  flies  (Fig.  234),  begin  now  to  leave 
their  portable  houses,  formed  of  pieces  of  leaves,  or  sticks  and 
fine  gravel,  or  even  of  shells,  as  in  an  European  species,  and  fly 
over  the  water,  resting  on  the  overhanging  trees. 

A  few  busy  Mosquito  Hawks,  or  Dragon  flies  (Libellula), 
herald  the  coming  of  the  summer  brood  of  these  indefatigable 
friends  of  the  agriculturist.  During  their  whole  life  below  the 
waters,  these  entomological  Herods  have  slain  and  sucked  the 
blood  of  myriads  of  infant  mosquitoes  and  other  insects ;  and 
now  in  their  new  world  above  the  waters,  with  still  more  in- 
tensified powers  of  doing  mischief,  happily,  however,  to  flies 
mostly  obnoxious  to  man,  they  riot  in  bloodshed  and  carnage. 


234.  Different  Forms  of  Case  Worms. 

This  is  the  season  to  stock  the  fresh- water  aquarium.  Go  to 
the  nearest  brook,  gather  a  sprig  or  two  of  the  water  cress, 
which  spreads  so  rapidly,  a  root  of  the  eel  grass,  and  plant 
them  in  a  glass  dish  or  deep  jar.  Pour  in  your  water,  let  the 
sand  and  sediment  settle,  and  then  put  in  a  few  Tadpoles,  a 
Newt  (Salamander),  Snails  (Limnsea,  Planorbis  and  Valvata), 
Caddis  flies  and  Water  beetles,  together  with  the  gatherings 
from  a  thicket  of  eel' grass,  or  other  submerged  plants,  being 
rich  in  the  young  of  various  flies,  Ephemeras,  Dragon  flies  and 
Water  fleas  (Entomostraca,  Fig.  235),  which  last  are  beautiful 
objects  for  the  microscope,  and  in  a  few  days  the  occupants  will 
feel  at  home,  and  the  aquarium  will  be  swarming  with  life, 
affording  amusement  and  occupation  for  many  a  dull  hour,  by 
day  or  at  night,  in  watching  the  marvels  of  insect  transforma- 
tions, and  plant-growth. 

Among  the  injurious  hymenoptera,  which  abound  late  in  this 


196 


INSECT   CALENDAR. 


month,  is  the  Rose  Saw  fly  (Selandria  rosae,  Fig.  236)  and  S. 

cerasi.  The  eggs  are  then  laid,  and  the  last  of  June,  or  early  in 
July,  the  slug-like  larva?  mature,  and 
the  perfect  insects  fly  in  July.  Various 
Gall  flies  now  lay  their  eggs  in  the 
buds,  leaves  and  stems  of  various  kinds 
of  oaks,  blackberries,  blueberries  and 
other  plants. 

Dipterous  Gall  flies  are  now  laying 
their  eggs  in  cereals.  The  Hessian 
fly  (Cecidomyia  destructor)  has  two 
broods,  the  fly  appearing  both  in 
spring  and  autumn.  The  fly  lays 
twenty  or  thirty  eggs  in  a  crease  in 
the  leaf  of  the  young  plant.  In  about 
four  days,  in  warm  weather,  they 
hatch,  and  the  pale-red  larvae  "crawl 
down  the  leaf,  work- 
ing their  way  in  be- 
tween it  and  the  main 
stalk,  passing  down- 
ward till  they  come 
to  a  joint,  just  above 
which  they  remain,  a 
little  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground, 
with  the  head  tow- 
ards the  root  of  the 

plant.     Here  they  imbibe  the  sap  by  suction 

alone,  and,  by  the  simple  pressure  of  their 

bodies  become  imbedded  in   the  side  of  the 

stem.     Two   or  three  larvae  thus  imbedded 

serve  to  weaken  the  plant  and  cause  it  to  wither 

arid  die.     The  second  brood  of  larvae  remains 

through  the  winter  in  the  flax-seed,  or  pupa- 

rium.    By  turning  the  stubble  with  the  plough 

in  the  autumn  and  early  spring,  its  imago  may 

be  destroyed,  and  thus  its  ravages  may  be 

checked.      (Figure  237  represents  the  female, 

which  is  about  one-third  as  large  as  a  mosquito:  a,  the  larva; 

&,  the  pupa ;   and  c  represents  the  joint  near  the  ground  where 


235.  Water  Flea. 


Selandria  rosae. 


THE   INSECTS    OF   MAY. 


197 


237.  Hessian  Fly. 


the  maggots  live.)  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Wheat  midge 
(Cecidomyfa  tritici),  which  attacks  the  wheat  in  the  ear,  and 
which  transforms  an  inch  deep  beneath  the  surface. 

Among  the  butterflies  which  appear  this  month  are  the  Tur- 
nip-butterfly (Pontia  oleracea,  Fig.  238,)  which  lays  its  eggs  the 
last  of  the  month.  The 
eggs  hatch  in  a  week  or 
ten  days,  and  in  about  two 
weeks  the  larva  changes 
to  a  chrysalis.  Thanaos 
junevalis  and  T.  Brizo  fly 
late  in  May.  The  cater- 
pillars live  on  the  pea 
and  other  papilionaceous 
plants.  Thecla  Auburni- 
ana,  T.  Niphon,  and  other 
species  fly  in  dry,  sunny 
fields,  some  in  April.  Ar- 
gynnis  Myrina  flies  from  the  last  of  May  through  June,  and  a 
second  brood  appears  hi  August  and  September.  Vanessa 
J-album  and  V.  interrogations  appear  in  May,  and  again  in 
August  and  September.  The  caterpillars  of  the  latter  species 
live  on  the  elm,  lime  and  hop-vine.  Grapta  comma  also  feeds 

on  the  hop.  Alypia  8-mac- 
ulata  (Fig.  49)  flies  at  this 
time,  and  in  August  its 
larva  feods  on  the  grape. 
Sphinx  gordius,  S.  5-macu- 
lata  (Fig.  239)  and  other 
Sphinges  and  Sesia  (the 
Clear-winged  moth), 
appear  the  last  of  May. 
Arctia  Arge,  A.  virgo,  A. 
phalerata  and  other  spe- 
cies fly  from  the  last  of 
238.  Turnip  Butterfly.  May  through  the  summer. 

Hyphantria  textor,  the  Fall-weaver,  is  found  in  May  or  June. 
The  moth  of  the  Salt-marsh  caterpillar  appears  at  this  time, 
and  various  Cut  worms  (Agrotis,  Fig.  240)  abound,  hiding  in 
the  daytime  under  stones  and  sticks,  etc.,  while  various  Tineids 
and  Tortrices,  or  Leaf-rolling  caterpillars,  begin  to  devour  ten- 


198 


INSECT  CALENDAR. 


239.  Sphinx  5-maculata,  Larva  and  Pupa. 


THE    INSECTS   OF  MAY. 


199 


der  leaves  and  burls  and  opening  blossoms  of  flowers  and  fruit 

trees. 
The  White-pine  weevil  flies  about  in  warm  days.     We  have 

found  its  burrows  winding  irregularly  over  the  inner  surface 

of  the  bark  and  leading  into  the  sap-wood.    Each  cell,  in  which 

it  hibernates,  in  the  middle  of 
March,  contains  the  yellowish 
white  footless  grub.  Early  in 
April  it  changes  to  a  pupa,  and  a 
month  after  the  beetle  appears, 
|and  in  a  few  days  deposits  its 
egg  under  the  bark  of  old  pine 
trees.  It  also  oviposits  in  the 
terminal  shoots  of  pine  saplings, 
dwarfing  and  permanently  .de- 
forming the  tre'e.  Associated 
with  this  weevil  we  have  found 
the  smaller,  rounder,  more  cylin- 
240.  Cut  Worm  and  Moth.  dricalj  whitish  grubs  of  the 

Hylurgus  terebrans,  which  mines  the  inner  layers  of  the  bark, 
slightly  grooving  the  sap-wood.  Later  in  April  it  pupates, 
and  its  habits  accord  in  general  with  those  of  Pissodes  strobi. 
Another  Pine  weevil  also  abounds  at  this  time,  as  well  as  Otio- 
rhynchus  picipes  (Fig.  241),  which  injures 
beans,  etc. 

Cylindrical  bark-borers,  which  are  little, 
round,  weevil-like  beetles,  are  now  flying 
about  fruit  trees,  to  lay  their  eggs  in  the 
bark.  Associated  with  the  Pissodes,  we  .  jnBBt  m 
may  find  in  April  the  galleries  of  Tomicus  JrKfmmtifc  \.  1 
piui,  branching  out  from  a  common  centre. 
They  are  filled  up  with  fine  sawdust,  and, 
according  to  Dr.  Fitch,  are  notched  in  the 
sides  "in  which  the  eggs  have  been  placed, 
where  they  would  remain  undisturbed  by 
the  beetle  as  it  crawled  backwards  and  forth  241>  G*rden  Weevil, 
through  the  gallery."  These  little  beetles  have  not  the  long 
snouts  of  the  weevils,  hence  they  cannot  bore  through  the 
outer  bark,  but  enter  into  the  burrows  made  the  preceding 
year,  and  distribute  the  eggs  along  the  sides  (Fitch).  Another 
Tomicus,  more  dangerous  than  the  preceding,  feeds  exclusively 


200 


INSECT    CALENDAR. 


in  the  sap-wood,  running  solitary  galleries  for  a  distance  of  two 
inches  towards  the  centre  of  the  tree.  We  figure  Tomicus 
xylographus  Say  (Fig.  242,  enlarged).  It  is  the  most  formi- 
dable enemy  to  the  white  pine  in  the  North,  and  the  yellow  pine 
in  the  South  that  we  have.  It  also  flies  in  May.  Ptinus  fur 


242.  Pine  Weevil. 


243.  Ptinus  and  Larva. 


(Fig.  243,  much  enlarged)  is  now  found  in  out-houses,  and  is 
destructive  to  cloth,  furs,  etc.,  resembling  the  Larder-beetle 
(Dermestes)  in  its  habits.  It  is  fourteen  hundredths  of  an  inch 
in  length. 

The  Insects  of  June. 

Early  in  the  month  the  Parsnip  butterfly  (Papilio  Asterias) 
may  be  seen  flying  about,  preparatory  to  laying  its  eggs  for  the 
brood  of  caterpillars  which  appear  in  August.  At  the  time  of 
the  flowering  of  the  raspberry  and  blackberry,  the  young  larva 
of  Vanessa  Antiopa,  one  of  our  most  abundant  butterflies,  may 
be  found  living  socially  on  the  leaves  of  the  willow ;  while  the 
mature  larva  of  another  much  smaller  butterfly,  the  little  Coppe;* 
skipper  (Chrysophanus  Americanus),  so  abundant  at  this  time, 
may  sometimes  be  found  on  the  clover.  It  is  a  short,  oval, 
greenish  worm,  with  very  short  legs.  The  dun-colored  skippers 
(Hesperia)  abound  towards  the  middle  of  the  month,  darting 
over  the  flowers  of  the  blueberry  and  blackberry,  in  sunny 
openings  in  the  forests. 

The  family  of  Hawk  moths  (Sphinges)  now  appear  in  greater 
abundance,  hovering  at  twilight  over  flower-beds,  and,  during 
this  time,  deposit  their  eggs  on  the  leaves  of  various  fruit-trees. 
The  American  Tent  caterpillar  makes  its  cocoon,  and  assumes 
the  pupa  state.  Th'e  caterpillar  passes  several  days  within  the 


THE  INSECTS    OF   JUNE.  201 

cocoon,  in  what  may  be  called  the  semi-pupa  state,  during  which 
period  the  chrysalis  skin  is  forming  beneath  the  contracted  and 
loosened  larva  skin.  We  once  experimented  on  a  larva  which 
had  just  completed  its  cocoon,  to  learn  how  much  silk  it  could 
produce.  On  removing  its  cocoon  it  made  another  of  the  same 
thickness;  but  on  destroying  this  second  one  it  spun  a  third 
but  frail  web,  scarcely  concealing  its  form.  A  minute  Ichneu- 
mon parasite,  allied  to  Platygaster,  lays  its  eggs  within  those 
of  this  moth,  as  we  once  detected  one  under  a  bunch  of  eggs, 
and  afterwards'  reared  a  few  from  the  same  lot  of  eggs.  A  still 
more  minute  egg-parasite  (Fig.  244)  we'  have  seen  ovipositing 
in  the  early  spring,  in  the  eggs  of  the  Canker-worm. 

Among  that  beautiful  family  of  moths,  the  Phala3nidaB,  com- 
prising the  Geometers,  Loopers,  or  Span-worms,  are  two  for- 
midable foes  to  fruit  growers.  The  habits  of  the  Canker  worm 
should  be  well  known.  With  proper  care  and  well-directed 
energy,  we  believe  their  attacks  can  be  in  a  great  measure  pre- 
vented. The  English  sparrow,  doves  and  other  insectivorous 
birds,  if  there  are  any  others  that  eat  them, 
should  be  domesticated  in  order  to  reduce  the 
number  of  these  pests.  More  care  than  has  yet 
been  taken  should  be  devoted  to  destroying  the 
eggs  laid  in  the  autumn,  and  also  the  wingless 
females,  AS  they  crawl  up  the  trees  in  the  spring2^-  Canker  worm 
and  autumn  to  lay  their  eggs.  The  evil  is  usually  ESg-parasite. 
done  before  the«farmer  is  well  aware  that  the  calamity  has  fallen 
upon  him.  As  soon  as,  and  even  before  the  trees  have  fairly 
leafed  out,  they  should  be  visited  morning,  noon  and  night, 
shaken  and  thoroughly  examined  and  cleared  of  the  caterpillars. 
By  well-concerted  action  among  agriculturists,  who  should  form 
a  Board  of  Destruction*,  numbering  every  man,  woman  and  child 
on  the  farm,  this  fearful  scourge  may  be  abated  by  the  simplest 
means,  as  the  cholera  or  any  epidemic  disease  can  in  a  great 
measure  be  averted  by  taking  proper  sanitary  precautions.  The 
Canker  worms  hatch  out  during  the  early  part  of  May,  from 
eggs  laid  in  the  fall  and  spring,  on  the  branches  of  various  fruit- 
trees.  Just  as  the  buds  unfold,  the  young  caterpillars  make 
little  holes  through  the  tender  leaves,  eating  the  pulpy  portions, 
not  touching  the  veins  and  midribs.  When  four  weeks  old  they 
creep  to  the  ground,  or  let  themselves  down  by  spinning  a  silken 
thread,  and  burrow  from  two  to  six  inches  in  the  soil,  where 


202 


INSECT   CALENDAR. 


they  change  to  chrysalids  in  a  day  or  two,  and  in  this  state  live 
till  late  in  the  fall,  or  until  the  early  spring,  when  they  assume 
the  imago  or  moth  form.  The  sexes  then  unite,  and  the  eggs 
are  deposited  for  the  next  generation. 

The  Canker  worm  is  widely  distributed,  though  its  ravages 
used  to  be  confined  mostly  to  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  Boston.  We  have 
seen  specimens  of  the  moth  from  Illi- 
nois. Ililey  has  found,  it  in  Missouri. 
The  Abraxas  ribearia  of  Fitch 
(Fig.  245,  moth),  the  well-known 
Currant  worm,  defoliates  whole  rows 
of  currant  bushes.  This  pretty  cater- 
pillar may  be  easily  known  by  its  body  being  of  a  deep  golden 
color,  spotted  with  black.  The  bushes  should  be  visited  morn- 
ing, noon  and  night,  and  thoroughly  shaken  (killing  the  cater- 
pillars) and  sprinkled  with  ashes. 
Among  multitudes  of  beetles  (Coleoptera)  injurious  to  the 


245.  Abraxas  ribearia. 


246.  May  Beetle  and  Young. 

crops,  are  the  May  beetle  (Lachnosterna  fusca,  Fig.  246),  whose 
larva,  a  large  white  grub,  is  injurious  to  the  roots  of  grass  and 
to  strawberry  vines.  The  Rose  beetle  appears  about  the  time 
of  the  blossoming  of  the  rose.  The  Fire-flies  now  show  their 


THE   INSECTS    OF   JUNE. 


203 


—I— 

247.  Pemphigus. 


light  during  mild  evenings,  and  on  hot  sultry  days  the  shrill 
rasping  song  of  the  male  Cicada,  for  "they  all  have  voiceless 
wives,"  cuts  the  air.  The  Chinch-bug,  that  fell  destroyer  of  our 
wheat  crops,  appears,  according  to  Harris,  in  the  middle  of  the 
mouth,  and  "may  be  seen  in  their  various  stages  of  growth  on 
all  kinds  of  grain,  on  corn 
and  herds-grass  during 
the  whole  summer."  So 
widely  spread  is  this  in- 
sect at  present,  that  we 
have  even  detected  it  in 
August  on  the  summit  of 
Mount  Washington. 

The  Diptera,  or  two-winged  flies,  contain  hosts  of  noxious 
insects,  such  as  the  various  Cecidomyians,  or  two-winged  Gall 
flies,  which  now  sting  the  culms  of  the  wheat  and  grasses,  and 
various  grains,  and  leaves  of  trees,  producing  gall-like  excres- 
cences of  varying  form.  Legions  of  these  delicate  minute  flies 
fill  the  air  at  twilight,  hovering  over  wheat  fields  and 
shrubbery.  A  strong  north  west  wind,  at  such  times, 
is  of  incalculable  value  to  the  farmer.  Moreover, 
minute  flies,  allied  to  the  house  fly,  such  as  Tephritis, 
Oscinis,  etc.,  now  attack  the  young  cereals,  doing 
immense  injury  to  grain. 

Millions  of  Aphides,  or  Plant  lice,  now  infest  our 
shade  and  fruit  trees,  crowding  every  green  leaf, 
into  which  they  insert  their  tiny  oeaks,  sucking  in 
the  sap,  causing  the  leaves  to  curl  up  and  wither. 
They  also  attack  the  stems  and  even  the  roots  of 
plants,  though  these  latter  (Pemphigus,  Fig.  247) 
differ  generically  from  the  true  Plant  lice.  Fruit 
trees  should  be  again  washed  and  rubbed  to  kill  off 
the  young  Bark  lice,  of  which  the  common  apple 
Bark  louse  (Aspidiotus  conchiformis,  Fig.  248), 
whose  oyster-shaped  scales  may  be  found  in  myriads 

248.  Apple         neglected  trees,  is  a  too  familiar  example.    An- 
15'irk  Louse. 

other  pest  of  apple  trees  is  the  woolly  Blight  (Eri- 

.osoma  lanigera).  These  insects  secrete  from  the  surface  of  the 
body  a  downy,  cottony  substance  which  conceals  the  animal,  and 
when  they  are,  as  usual,  grouped  together  on  the  trees,  makes 
them  look  like  patches  of  mould.  The  natural  insect  enemies 


204  INSECT   CALENDAR. 

of  the  Plant  lice  now  abound ;  such  are  the  Lady  bugs  (Cocci- 
nella,  Fig.  249);  the  larva  of  the  Syrphus  fly  (Fig.  76),  which 
devours  immense  quantities,  and  the  larva  of  the  Golden-eyed, 
Lace-winged  fly  (Chrysopa,  Fig.  256). 

The  last  days  of  June  are  literally  the  heyday  and  jubilee  of 
insect  life.  The  entomological  world  holds  high  carnival,  though 
in  this  country  they  are,  perhaps,  more  given  to  mass-meetings 
and  caucuses.  The  earth,  the  air,  and  the 
water  teem  with  insect  life.  The  insects 
of  mid-summer  now  appear.  Among  the 
butterflies,  the  Wood  Satyrus  (Neonympha 
Eurythris)  skips  in  its  low  flight  through 
the  pines.  The  larva  of  Grapta  Progne 
249.  Coccinella  and  appears  on  the  currants,  and  feeds  beneath 
the  leaves  on  hot  sunny  days.  The  larva 
of  Cynthia  cardui  may  be  found  on  the  hollyhocks ;  the  pupa 
state  lasts  twelve  days,  the  butterfly  appearing  in-  the  middle 
or  last  of  July.  The  Hyphantria  textor  now  lays  its  smooth, 
spherical  eggs  in  broad  patches  on  the  under  side  of  the  leaves 
of  the  apple,  which  the  caterpillar  will  ravage  in  August ;  and 
its  ally,  the  Halesidota  caryse,  we  have  found  ovipositing  the 
last  week  in  the  month  on  the  leaves  of  the  butternut.  The 
Squash  bug,  Coreus  (Gonocerus)  tristis  (Fig.  250)  is  now  very 
abundant,  gathering  about  the  roots  of  the  squash  vines,  often 
in  immense  numbers,  blackening  the  stems  with 
their  dark,  blackish-brown  bodies.  This  insect 
is  easily  distinguished  from  the  yellow  striped 
Squash  beetle  previously  mentioned,  by  its  much 
greater  size,  and  its  entirely  different  structure 
and  habits.  It  is  a  true  bug  (Hemipter,  of  which 
the  bed-bug  is  an  example),  piercing  the  leaves 
and  stalks,  and  drawing  out  the  sap  with  its  long 

250.  Squash  Bug. 

sucker. 

In  June,  also,  we  have  found  that  beautiful  butterfly,  Militaja 
Phaeton  rising  from  the  low,  cold  swamps.  Its  larva  transforms 
early  in  June  or  the  last  week  in  May,  into  a  beautiful  chrysalis. 
The  larva  hibernates  through  the  winter,  and  may  be  found 
early  in  spring  feeding  on  the  leaves  of  the  aster,  the  Viburnum^ 
dentatum  and  hazel.  It  is  black  and  deep  orange-red,  with 
long,  thick-set,  black  spines. 

The  Currant  borer,  Trochilium  tipuliforme  (Fig.  251),  a  beau- 


THE  INSECTS   OF   JUNE.  205 

tiful,  slender,  agile,  deep  blue  moth,  with  transparent  wings, 
flies  the  last  of  the  month  about  currant  bushes,  and  its  chrysa- 
lids  may  be  found  in  May  in  the  stems.  Among  moths,  that  of 
the  American  Tent  caterpillar  flies  during  the  last  of  June  and 
July,  and  its  white  cocoons  can  be  detected  under  bark,  and  in 
sheltered  parts  of  fences  and  out-houses. 

Among  others  of  the  interesting  group  of  Silk  worms  (Bomby- 
cida3)  are  Lithosa,  Crocota  and  allies,  which  fly  in  the  day-time, 
and  the  different  species  of  Arctia,  and  the  white  Arctians,  Spilo- 
soma,  and  Leucarctia,  the  parent  of  the  Salt-marsh  Caterpillar. 

Many  Leaf  rollers,  Tortrices,  are  rolling  up  leaves  in  various 
ways  for  their  habitations,  and  to  conceal  them  from  too  prying 
birds ;  and  hosts  of  young  Tineans  are  now  mining  leaves,  and 
excavating  the  interior  of  seeds  and  various  fruits.  Grape- 
growers  should  guard  against  the  attacks  of  a  species  of  Tor- 
trix  (Penthina  vitivorana)  which  rolls  the  leaves  of  the  grape, 
and,  according  to  Mr.  M.  C.  Reed,  of  Hudson, 
Ohio,  "in  mid-summer  deposits  its  eggs  in  the 
grape ;  a  single  egg  in  a  grape.  Its  presence  is 
soon  indicated  by  a  reddish  color  on  that  side 
of  the  yet  green  grape,  and  on  opening  it,  the 
winding  channel  opened  by  the  larva  in  the  pulp 
is  seen,  and  the  minute  worm,  which  is  white, 
with  a  dark  head,  is  found  at  the  end  of  th'e 
channel.  It  continues  to  feed  upon  the  pulp  of  the  fruit,  and 
when  it  reaches  the  seeds,  eats  out  their  interior;  and  if  the 
supply  from  one  grape  is  extinguished  before  its  growth  is  com- 
pleted, it  fastens  this  to  an  adjoining  grape  with  a  web,  and 
burrows  into  it.  It  finally  grows  to  about  one-half  of  an  inch 
in  length,  becomes  brown,  almost  black,  the  head  retaining  its 
cinnamon  color.  When  it  leaves  the  grape  it  is  very  active,  and 
has  the  power  of  letting  itself  down  by  a  thread  of  silk.  All  my 
efforts  to  obtain  the  cocoons  failed  until  I  placed  fresh  grape 
leaves  in  the  jar  containing  the  grapes.  The  larvaa  immedi- 
ately betook  themselves  to  these,  and,  cutting  a  curved  line 
through  the  leaf  thus  ),  sometimes  two  lines  thus  (  ),  folded 
the  edge  or  edges  over,  and  in  the  fold  assumed  the  chrysalis 
form.  From  specimens  saved,  I  shall  hope  to  obtain  the  perfect 
insect  this  season,  and  perhaps  obtain  information  which  will 
aid  in  checking  its  increase.  Already  it  is  so  abundant  that 
it  is  necessary  to  examine  every  branch  of  rioe  grapes,  and  clip 
18 


206  INSECT   CALENDAR. 

out  the  infested  berries  before  sending  them  to  the  table.  A 
rapid  increase  in  its  numbers  would  interfere  seriously  with  the 
cultivation  of  the  grape  in  this  locality." 

The  Rose  beetle  (Macrodactyla  subspinosa)  appears  in  great 
abundance.  The  various  species  of  Buprestis  are  abundant; 
among  them  are  the  Peach-borer  (Dicerca  divaricata),  which 
may  be  now  found  flying  about  peach  and  cherry  trees ;  and 
Chrysobothris  fulvogutta,  and  C.  Harrisii,  about  white  pines. 
A  large  weevil  (Arrheoodes  septentrionalis),  which  lives  under 
•the  bark  of  the  white  oak,  appears  in  June  and  July.  The 
Chinch  bug  begins  its  terrible  ravages  in  the  wheat  fields. 
The  various  species  of  Chrysopa  or  Lace-winged  flies,  appear 
during  this  month. 

The  Insects  of  July. 

During  mid-summer  the  bees  and  wasps  are  very  busy  building 
their  nests  and  rearing  their  young.  The  Humble  bees,  late  in 
June  and  the  first  of  this  month,  send  out  their  first  broods  of 

workers,  and  about  the  middle 
of  the  month  the  second  lot  of 
eggs  are  laid,  which  produce 
the  smaller-sized  females  and 
males,  while  eggs  laid  late  in 
the  month  and  early  in  August, 
produce  the  larger-sized 
queens,  which  soon  hatch. 
These  hibernate.  The  habits 
252.  White-faced  Wasp.  of  their  peculiar  parasite,  Apa- 

thus,  an  insect  which  closely  resembles  the  Humble  bee,  are 
still  unknown. 

The  Leaf-cutter  bee  fMegachile)  may  be  seen  flying  about 
with  pieces  of  rose-leaf,  with  which  she  builds,  for  a  period  of 
twenty  days,  her  cells,  often  thirty  in  number,  using  for  this 
purpose,  according  to  Mr.  F.  W.  Putnam's  estimate,*  at  least 
one  thousand  pieces !  The  bees  referred  to  "worked  so  dili- 
gently that  they  ruined  five  or  six  rose-bushes,  not  leaving  a 
single  unblighted  leaf  uncut,  and  were  then  forced  to  take  the 
leaves  of  a  locust  tree  as  a  substitute." 

The  Paper-making  wasps,  of  which  Vespa  maculata  (Fig.  252), 

*See  "Proceedings  of  the  Essex  Institute,"  vol.  iv,  p.  105. 


THE   INSECTS    OF   JULY.     •  207 

the  "White-faced  wasp,"  is  our  largest  species,  are  now  com- 
pleting their  nests,  and  feeding  their  young  with  flies.  The 
Solitary  wasp  (Odynerus  albophaleratus)  fills  its' earthen  cells* 
*  with  minute  caterpillars,  which  it  paralyzes  with  its  poisonous 
sting.  A  group  of  mud-cells,  each  stored  with  food  for  the 
single  larva  within,  wre  once,  found  concealed  in  a  deserted  nest 
of  the  American  Tent  caterpillar.  Numerous  species  of  Wood 
wasps  (Crabronidae)  are  engaged  in  tunnelling  the  stems  of  the 
blackbeny,  the  elder,  and  syringa,  and  enlarging  and  refitting 
old  nail  holes,  and  burrowing  in  rotten  wood,  storing  their  cells 
with  flies,  caterpillars,  aphides  and  spiders,  according  to  the 
habit  of  each  species.  Eumenes  fraterna,  which  attaches  its 
single,  large,  thin-walled  cell  of  mud  to  the  stems  of  plants,  is, 
according  to  Dr.  T.  W.  Harris,  known  to  store  it  with  Canker 
worms.  Pelopreus,  the  Mud-dauber,  is  now  building  its  earthen 
cells,  plastering  them  on 
old  rafters  and  stone  walls. 

The    Saw     flies     (Ten- 
thrcdo),  etc.,  abound  in  our 
gardens  this  month.      The 
Selandria  vitis   attacks  the 
vine,  while  Selandria  rosa3, 
the   Rose  slug,  injures  the 
rose.     The  disgusting  Pear 
slug- worm  (S.  cerasi),  often        253<  Imported  Cabbage  Butterfly, 
live  twenty  to  thirty  on  a  leaf,  eating  the  parenchyma,  or  softer 
tissues,  leaving  the  blighted  leaf.     The  leaves  should  be  sprin- 
kled with  a  mixture  of  whale-oil  soap  and  water,  in  the  propor- 
tion of  two  pounds  of  soap  to  fifteen  gallons  of  water. 

Among  the  butterflies,  Melitaea  Ismeria,  in  the  south,  and  M. 
Harris!!,  in  the  north,  are  sometimes  seen.  A  second  brood  of 
Colias  Philodice,  the  common  sulphur-yellow  butterfly,  appears, 
and  Pieris  oleracea  visits  turnip-patches.  It  lays  its  eggs  in 
June  on  the  leaves,  and  the  full-grown,  dark-green,  hairy  larva 
may  be  found  in  August.  The  Pieris  rapa3,  or  imported  cabbage 
butterfly  (Fig.  253,  male)  is  now  also  abundant.  Its  green 
hairy  larva  is  fearfully  prevalent  about  Boston  and  New  York. 
The  last  of  the  month  a  new  brood  of  Grapta  comma  appears, 
and  a  second  brood  of  the  larva  of  Chrysophauus  Americanus 
may  be  found  on  the  sorrel. 

The  larvae  of  Pyrrarctia  Isabella  hatch  out  the  first  week  in 


208 


INSECT   CALENDAR. 


July,  and  the  snuff- colored  an  oth  enters  our  windows -at  night, 
in  company  with  a  host  of  night-flying   moths.      These   large 


255.  Lady  Bug 
and  Pupa. 


254.  Apple  Borer,  Larva  and  Pupa. 

moths,  many  of  which  are  injurious  to  crops,  are  commonly 
thought  to  feed  on  clothes  and  carpets.  The  true  carpet  and 
clothes  moths  are  minute  species,  which  flutter 
noiselessly  about  our  apartments.  Their  nar- 
row, feathery  wings  are  edged  with  long  silken 
fringes,  and  almost  the  slightest  touch  kills 
them. 

Among  beetles,  the  various  borers,  such  as 
the  Saperda,  or  apple  tree  borer  (Fig.  254)  are 
now  pairing,  and  fly  in  the  hot  sun  about  trees. 
Nearly  each  tree  has  its  peculiar,  enemy,  which 
drives  its  galleries  into  the 
trunk  and  branches  of  the 
tree.  Among  the  Tiger 
beetles,  frequenting  sandy 
places,  the  large  Cicindela 
geuerosa  and  the  Cicindela  hirticollis  are  most  common.  The 
grotesque  larvae  live  in  deep  holes 
in  sand-banks. 

The  nine-spotted  Lady  Bug,  Coc- 
cinella  novemnotata  (Fig.  255,  with 
pupa)  is  one  of  a  large  group  of 
_*  beetles,  most  beneficial  from  their 

***  habit  of  feeding  on  the  plant  lice. 

257.  Forceps-tail.  We   figUre    another   enemy  of   the 

Aphides,  Chrysopa,  and  its  eggs  (Fig.  256),  mounted  each  on  a 
long  silken  stalk,  thus  placed  above  the  reach  of  harm. 


250.  Lace-winged  Fly  and  Eggs. 


THE  INSECTS  OF  AUGUST.  209 

Among  other  beneficial  insects  belonging  to  the  Neuroptera, 
is  the  immense  family  of  Libellulidse,  or  Dragon  flies.  The 
Forceps-tail,  or  Panorpa,  P.  rufescens  (Fig.  257),  is  found  in 
bushy  fields  and  shrubbery.  They  prey  on  smaller  insects,  and 
the  males  are  armed  at  the  extremity  of  the  body  with  an  enor- 
mous forceps-like  apparatus. 

The  Insects  of  August. 

During  this  month  great  multitudes  of  bugs  (Hemiptera)  are 
found  in  our  fields  and  gardens ;  and  to  this  group  of  insects 
the  present  chapter  will  be  devoted.  They  are  nearly  all  inju- 
rious to  crops,  as  they  live  on  the  sap  of  plants,  stinging  them 
with  their  long  suckers.  Their  continued  attacks  cause  the 
leaves  to  wither  and  blight. 

The  grain  Aphis,  in  certain  years,  desolates  our  wheat  fields. 
We  have  seen  the  heads  black  with  these  terrible  pests.  They 


258.  Leaf-hopper  of  the  Vine. 

pierce  the  grain,  extract  the  sap,  causing  it  to  shrink  and  lose 
the  greater  part  of  its  bulk.  It  is  a  most  insidious  and  diflicult 
foe  to  overcome. 

The  various  leaf-hoppers,  Tettigonia  (Fig.  258)  and  Ceresa, 
abound  on  the  leaves  of  plants,  sadly  blighting  them ;  and  the 
Tettigonias  frequent  damp,  wet,  swampy  places.  A  very  abun- 
dant species  on  grass  produces  what  is  called  "frog's  spittle." 
It  can  easily  be  traced  through  all  its  changes  by  frequently 
examining  the  mass  of  froth  which  surrounds  it.  TettLgonia 
vitis  blights  the  leaf  of  the  grape-vine.  It  is  a  tenth  of  an  inch 
long,  and  is  straw-yellow,  striped  with  red.  Tettigonia  rosae, 
a  still  smaller  species,  infests  the  rose,  often  to  an  alarming 
extent. 

The  Notonecta,  or  water  boatman,  is  much  like  a  Tettigonia, 
but  its  wings  are  transparent  on  the  outer  half,  and  its  legs  are 


210 


INSECT  CALENDAR. 


fringed  with  long  hairs,  being  formed  for  swimming.  It  rows 
over  the  surface  in  pursuit  of  insects.  Nofonecta  undulata  Say 
(Fig.  259)  is  a  common  form  in  New  England. 

Another  insect  hunter  is  the  singular  Ranatra  fusca  (Fig.  260). 
It  is  light  brown  in  color,  with  a  long  respiratory  tube  which  it 
raises  above  the  surface  of  the  water  when  it  wishes  to  breathe. 
This  'species  connects  the  Water-boatman  with  the  Water- 


259.  Notonecta. 


200.  Ranatra. 


2G2.  Pirates. 


skaters,  or  Gerris,  a  familiar  insect,  of  which  Gerris  paludum 
(Fig.  261)  is  commonly  seen  running  over  the  surface  of  streams 
and  pools. 

Reduvius  and  its  allies  belong  to  a  large  family  of  very  useful 
insects,  as  they  prey  largely  on  caterpillars  and  noxious  insects. 
Such  is  Pirates  picipes  (Fig.  262),  a  common  species.  It  is  an 


INSECTS  OF  AUGUST.  211 

ally  of  Reduvius  personatus,  a  valued  friend  to  man,  as  in  Europe 
it  destroys  the  bed-bug. '  Its  specific  name  is  derived  from  its 
habit  while  immature,  of  concealing  itself  in  a  case  of  dust,  the 
better  to  approach  its  prey. 

Another  friend  of  the  agriculturist  is  the  Phymata  erosa  (Fig. 
2G3).  Mr.  F.  G.  Sanborn  states  that  "these  insects  have  been 
taken  in  great  numbers  upon  the  linden  trees  in  the  city  of 
Boston,  and  were  seen  in  the  act  of  devouring  the 
Aphides,  which  have  infested  the  shade  trees  of  that 
city  for  several  years  past.  •  They  are  described  by  a 
gentleman  who  watched  their  operations  with  great 
interest,  as  *  stealing  up  to  a  louse,  coolly  seizing  and 
tucking  it  under  the  arm,  then  inserting  the  beak  263.  Thy- 
and  sucking  it  dry.'  They  are  supposed  to  feed  also  mata- 
on  other  vegetable-eating  insects  as  well  as  the  plant  louse." 

Phytocoris  lineolaris  swarms  in  our  gardens  during  this 
month.  It  is  described  and  figured  in  "Harris's  Treatise  on  In- 
sects." Closely  allied,  though  generally  wingless,  is  that  enemy 
of  our  peace,  the  bed-bug.  It  has  a  small,  somewhat  triangular 
head,  orbicular  thorax,  and  large,  round,  flattened  *abdomen. 
It  is  generally  wingless,  having  only  two  small  wing-pads  in- 
stead. The  eggs  are  oval,  white ;  the  young  escape  by  pushing 
off  a  lid  at  one  end  of  the  shell.  They  are  white,  transparent, 
differing  from  the  perfect  insect  in  having  a  broad,  triangular 
head,  and  short,  thick  antennae.  Indeed,  this  is  the  general 
form  of  lice  (Pediculus  vestimenti,  and  P.  capitis),  to  which  the 
larva  of  Cimex  has  the  closest  affinity.  Some  Cimices  are  para- 
sites, infesting  pigeons,  swallows,  etc.,  in  this  way  also  showing 
their  near  relation  to  lice.  Besides  the  Reduvius,  the  cockroach 
is  the  natural  enemy  of  the  bed-bug,  and  destroys  large  num- 
bers. Houses  have  been  cleared  of  bugs  after  being  thoroughly 
fumigated  with  brimstone. 

During  this  month  the  ravages  of  grasshoppers*  are,  in  the 
West,  very  wide-spread.  We  have  received  from  Major  F. 
Havvn,  of  Leaven  worth,  Kansas,  a  most  interesting  account  of 
the  Red-legged  locust  (Caloptenus  femur-rubrum).  "They  com- 
mence depositing  their  eggs  in  the  latter  part  of' August.  They 
are  fusiform,  slightly  gibbous,  and  of  a  buff-color.  They  are 
placed  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  beneath  the  surface,  in  a 
compact  mass  around  a  vertical  axis,  pointing  obliquely  up  and 
outwards,  and  are  partially  cemented  together,  the  whole  pre- 


212 


INSECT   CALENDAR. 


senting  a  cylindrical  structure,  not  unlike  a  small  cartridge. 
They  commence  hatching  in  March,  but  it  requires  a  range  of 
temperature  above  60°  F.  to  bring  them  to  maturity,  and  under 
such  conditions  they  become  fledged  in  thirty-three  days,  and  in 
from  three  to  five  days  after  they  enter  upon  their  migratory 
flight. 

"Their  instincts  are  very  strong.  When  food  becomes  scarce 
at  one  point,  a  portion  of  them  migrate  to  new  localities,  and 
this  movement  takes  place  simultaneously  over  large  areas.  In 


264.  Seventeen  Year  Locust,  Eggs  and  Pupa. 

their  progress  they 'stop  at  no  obstacle  they  can  surmount.  In 
these  excursions  they  often  meet  with  other  trains  from  an 
opposite  direction,  when  both  join  in  one. 

"The  insects  are  voracious,  but  discriminating  in  their  choice 
of  food,  yet  I  know  of  no  plant  they  reject  if  presses  by  hunger; 
not  even  the  foliage  of  shrubs  and  trees,  including  pine  and 
cedar." 

During  this  month  the  Seventeen-year  locust  (Cicada  septen- 
decim  of  Linnaeus,  Fig.  264)  has  disappeared,  and  only  a  few 
Harvest  flies,  as  the  two  other  species  we  have  are  called,  raise 
their  shrill  cry  during  the  dog-days.  But  as  certain  years  are 


THE  INSECTS  OF  AUGUST.  213 

marked  by  the  appearance  of  vast  swarms  in  the  Middle  States, 
we  cannot  do  better  than  to  give  a  brief  summary  of  its  history, 
which  we  condense  in  part  from  Dr.  Harris'  work. 

The  Seventeen-year  locust  ranges  from  South-eastern  and 
Western  Massachusetts  to  Louisiana.  Of  its  distribution  west 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  we  have  no  accurate  knowledge.  In 
Southern  Massachusetts,  they  appear  in  oak  forests  about  the 
middle  of  June.  After  pairing,  the  female,  by  means  of  her 
powerful  ovipositor,  bores  a  hole  obliquely  to  the  pith,  and  lays 
therein  from  ten  to  twenty  slender  white  eggs,  which  are  ar- 
ranged in  pairs,  somewhat  like  the  grains  on  an  ear  of  wheat, 
and  implanted  in  the  limb.  She  thus  oviposits  several  times  in 
a  twig,  and  passes  from  one  to  another,  until  she  has  laid  four 
or  five  hundred  eggs.  After  this  she  soon  dies.  The  eggs 
hatch  in  about  two  weeks,  though  some  observers  state  that 
they  do  not  hatch  for  from  forty  to  over  fifty  days  after  being 
laid.  The  active  grubs  are  provided  with  three  pairs  of  legs. 
After  leaving  the  egg  they  fall  to  the  ground,  burrow'into  it, 
and  seek  the  roots  of  plants  whose  juices  they  suck  by  means  of 
their  long  beaks.  They  sometimes  attack  the  roots  of  fruit 
trees,  such  as  the  pear  and  apple.  They  live  nearly  seventeen 
years  in  the  larva  state,  and  then  in  the  spring  change  to  the 
pupa,  which  chiefly  differs  from  the  larva  by  having  rudimentary 
wings.  The  damage  done  by  the  Iarva3  and  pupa?,  then,  consists 
in  their  sucking  the  sap  from  the  roots  of  forest,  and  occasion- 
ally fruit  trees. 

Regarding  its  appearance,  Mr.  L.  B.  Case  writes  us  (June  15) 
from  Richmond,  Indiana:  "Just  now  we  are  having  a  tremen- 
dous quantity  of  locusts  in  our  forests  and  adjoining  fields, 
and  people  are  greatly  alarmed  about  them ;  some  say  they  are 
Egyptian  locusts,  etc.  This  morning  they  made  a  noise,  in  the 
woods  about  half  a  mile  east  of  us,  very  much  like  the  con- 
tinuous sound  of  frogs  in  the  early  spring,  or  just  before  a 
storm  at  evening.  It  lasted  from  early  in  the  morning  until 
evening."  Mr.  V.  T.  Chambers  writes  us  that  it  is  abounding 
in  the  vicinity  of  Covington,  Kentucky,  "in  common  with  a 
large  portion  of  the  Western  country."  He  points  out  some 
variations  in  color  from  those  described  by  Dr.  Fitch,  from  New 
York,  and  states  that  those  occurring  in  Kentucky  are  smaller 
than  those  of  which  the  measurements  are  given  by  Dr.  Fitch, 
and  states  that  "these  differences  indicate  that  the  groups, 


214  INSECT  CALENDAR. 

appearing  in  different  parts  of  the  country  at  intervals  of  seven- 
teen years,  are  of  different  varieties."  A  careful  comparison  of 
large  numbers  collected  from  different  broods,  in  different  local- 
ities, and  different  years,  would  alone  give  the  facts  to  decide 
this  interesting  point.  Mr.  Riley  has  shown  that  in  the  South- 
ern States  a  variety  appears  every  thirteen  years. 

Regarding  the  question  raised  by  Mr.  Chambers,  whether  the 
sting  of  this  insect  is  poisonous,  and  which  he  is  inclined  to 
believe  to  be  in  part  true,  we  might  say  that  naturalists  gener- 
ally believe  it  to  be  harmless.  No  hemiptera  are  known  to  be 
poisonous,  that  is,  to  have  a  poison-gland  connected  with  the 
sting,  like  that  of  the  bee,  and  careful  dissections  by  the  eminent 
French  naturalist,  Lacaze-Duthiers,  of  three  European  species 
of  Cicada,  have  not  revealed  any  .poison  apparatus  at  the  base  of 
the  sting.  Another  proof  that  it  does  not  pour  poison,  into  the 
wound  made  by  the  ovipositor  is,  that  the  twig  thus  pierced  and 
wounded  does  not  swell,  as  in  the  case  of  plants  wounded  by 
Gall  flic's,  which,  perhaps,  secrete  an  irritating  poison,  giving  rise 
to  tumors  of  various  shapes.  Many  insects  sting  without  poi- 
soning the  wound ;  the  bite  of  the  mosquito,  black  fly,  flea,  the 
bed  bug,  and  other  hemipterous  insects,  are  simply  punctured 
wounds,  the  saliva  introduced  being  slightly  irritant,  and  to  a 
perfectly  healthy  constitution  they  are  not  poisonous,  though 
they  may  grievously  afflict  some  persons,  causing  the  adjacent 
parts  to  swell,  and  in  some  weak  constitutions  induce  severe 
sickness.  Regarding  this  point,  Mr.  Chambers  writes  :  "I  have 
heard — not  through  the  papers— within  a  few  days  past  of  a 
child,  within  some  twenty  miles  of  this  place,  dying  from  the 
sting  of  a  Cicada,  but  have  not  had  an  opportunity  to  inquire 
into  the  truth  of  the  story,  but  the  following  you  may  rely  on. 
A  negro  woman  in  the  employment  of  A.  V.  Winston,  Esq.,  at 
Burlington,  Boone  County,  Ky.,  fifteen  miles  distant  from  here, 
went  barefooted  into  his  garden  a  few  days  since,  and  while 
there  was  stung  or  bitten  in  the  foot  by  a  Cicada.  The  foot 
immediately  swelled  to  huge  proportions,  but  by  various  appli- 
cations the  inflammation  was  allayed,  and  the  woman  recovered. 
Mr.  Winston,  who  relates  this,  stands  as  high  for  intelligence 
and  veracity  as  any  one  in  this  vicinity.  I  thought,  on  first 
hearing  the  story,  that  probably  the  sting  was  by  some  other 
insect,  but  Mr.  Winston  says  that  he  saw  the  Cicada.  But  per- 
haps this  proves  that  the  sting  is  not  fatal ;  that  depends  on  the 


THE   INSECTS   OF  AUGUST. 


215 


subject.  Some  persons  suffer  terribly  from  the  bite  of  a  mos- 
quito, while  others  scarcely  feel  them.  The  cuticle  of  a  negro's 
foot  is  nearly  impenetrable,  and  perhaps  the  sting  would  have 
been  more  dangerous  in  a  more  tender  part."  It  is  not  improb- 
able that  the  sting  was  made  by  a  wasp  (Stizus)  which  preys  on 
the  Cicada.  Dr.  Le  Baron  and  Mr  Riley  believe  the  wound  to 
be  made  by  the  beak,  which  is  the  more  probable  solution  of  the 
problem. 

A  word  more  about  the   Seventeen-year  Cicada.    Professor 
Orton  writes  us  from  Yellow  Springs,  Ohio,  that  this  insect 


265.  Hop  Vine  Moth  and  Young. 

has  done*  great  damage  to  the  apple,  peach,  and  quince  trees, 
and  is  shortening  the  fruit  crop  very  materially.  By  boring 
into  twigs  bearing  fruit,  the  branches  break  and  the  fruit  goes 
with  them.  "Many  orchards  have  lost  full  two  years' growth. 
Though  the  plum  and 
cherry  trees  seemed  ex- 
empt, they  attacked  the 
grape,  blackberry,  rasp- 
be  rr3r,  elm  (white  and 
slippery),  maple,  wliite 
ash,  willow,  cat  alp  a, 

honey-locust     and    wild  266.  Humble  Bee  Parasite, 

rose.      We  have   traces 

of  the  Cicada  this  year  from   Columbus,  Ohio^to  St.  Louis. 
Washington  and  Philadelphia  have  also  had  a  visitation." 

We  figure  the  Hop-vine  moth  and  the  larva  (Fig.  2G5) 
which  abound  on  hops  the  last  of  summer.  Also,  the  Ilythia 
colonella  (Fig.  2G6,  a,  pupa),  known  in  England  to  be  a  para- 
site of  the  Humble  bee.  We  have  frequently  met  with  it  here, 
though  not  in  Humble  bees'  nests.  The  larvae  feed  directly  upon 
the  young  bees,  according  to  Curtis  (Farm  Insects).  The 
Spindle- worm  moth  (Gortyna  zese),  whose  caterpillar  lives  in 
the  stalks  of  Indian  corn,  and  also  in  dahlias,  flies  this  month. 


216 


INSECT    CALENDAR. 


267.  Tree  Cricket. 


The  withering  of  the  leaves  when  the  corn  is  young,  shows  the 

presence  of  this  pest.    The  beetles  of  various  cylindrical  Bark 

borers  and  Blight  beetles  (Tomicus  and  Scolytus)  appear  again 

this  month.  During  this 
month  the  Tree  cricket 
(CEcanthus  niveus,  Fig.  267) 
lays  its  eggs  in  the  branches 
of  peach  trees.  It  will  also 
eat  tobacco  leaves. 

We  figure  (268)  the  moth 
of  Ennomos  subsignaria,  the 
larva  of  which  is  so  injurious  to 
shade  trees  in  New  York  City. 
It  is  a  widely  diffused  species, 
occurring  probably  through- 
out the  Northern  States.  We 
have  taken  the  moth  in 

Northern  Maine.     We  have  received  from  Mr.  W.  V.Andrews 

the    supposed  larvae  of  this , 

moth.      They  are  "loopers,' 

that    is,  they  walk    with    a| 

looping  gait,  as  if  meas*ur- 

ing  off  the  ground  they  walk 

over,    whence    the    name 

"Geometers,"   more    usually 

applied  to  them.      They  are 

rather    stout,    brown,    and 

roughened  like  a  twig  of  the 

tree   they    inhabit,   with    an 

unusually  large  rust-red  head,  **•  Ennomos  subsignariar. 

and  red  prop-legs,  while  the  tip  of  the  body  is  also  red.    They 

are  a  little  ov»r  an  inch  long. 

The  Insects  of  September. 

Few  new  insects  make  their  first  appearance  for  the  season 
during  this  month.  Most  of  the  species  which  abound  in  the 
early  part  of  the  month  are  the  August  forms,  which  live  until 
they  are  killed  by  the  frosts  late  in  the  month.  From  this  cause 
there  is  towards  the  end  of  the  mouth  a  very  sensible  diminu- 
tion of  the  number  of  insects. 

The  early  frosts  warn  these  delicate  creatures  of  approaching 


THE  INSECTS   OP  SEPTEMBER.  217 

cold.  Hence  the  whole  insect  population  is  busied  late  in  the 
month  in  looking  out  snug  winter  quarters,  or  providing  for  the 
continuance  of  the  species.  Warned  by  the  cool  and  frosty 
nights,  multitudes  of  caterpillars  prepare  to  spin  their  dense 
silken  cocoons,  whicji  guard  them  against  frost  and  cold.  Such 
are  the  "Spinners,"  as  the  Germans  call  them,  the  Silk  moths, 
of  which  the  American  Silk  worm  is  a  fair  example.  The  last 
of  September  it  spins  its  dense  cocoon,  in  which  it  hibernates 
in  the  chrysalis  state. 

The  larvae  of  those  moths,  such  as  the  Sphinges,  or  Hawk 
moths,  which  spin  no  cocoon,  descend  deep  into  the  earth,  where 
they  transform  into  chrysalids  and  lie  in  deep  earthen  cocoons. 

The  wild  bees  may  now  be  found  frequenting  flowers  in  con- 
siderable numbers.  Both  sexes  of  the  Humble  bee,  the  Leaf- 
cutter  bee,  and  other  smaller  genera  abound  during  the  waim 
days.  ^ 

One's  attention  during  an  unusually  warm  and  pleasant  day 
in  this  month  is  attracted  by  clouds  of  insects  filling  the  air, 
especially  towards  sunset,  when  the  slanting  rays  of  the  sun 
shine  through  the  winged  hosts.  On  careful  investigation  these 
insects  will  prove  to  be  nearly  all  ants,  and,  perhaps,  to  belong 
to  a  single  species.  Looking  about  on  the  ground,  an  unusual 
activity  will  be  noticed  in  the  ant-hills.  This  is  the  swarming 
of  the  ants.  The  autumnal  brood  of  females  has  appeared,  and 
this  is  their  marriage  day. 

The  history  of  a  formicarium,  or  ant's  nest,  is  as  follows :  The 
workers,  only,  hibernate,  and  are  found  early  in  the  spring, 
taking  care  of  the  eggs  and  larvae  produced  by  the  autumnal 
brood  of  females.  In  the  course  of  the  summer  these  eggs  and 
larvae  arrive  at  maturity,  and  swarm  on  a  hot  sultry  day,  usually 
early  in  September.  The  females,  after  their  marriage  flight, 
for  the  small  diminutive  males  seek  their  company  at  this  time, 
descend  and  enter  the  ground  to  lay  their  eggs  for  new  colonies, 
or,  as  Westwood  states,  they  are  often  seized  by  the  workers 
and  retained  in  the  old  colonies.  Having  no  more  inclination 
to  fly,  they  pluck  off  their  wings  and  may  be  seen  running  about 
wingless. 

Dr.  C.  C.  Abbot  gives  us  the  following  account  of  the  swarm- 
ing of  a  species  in  New  Jersey :  "On  the  afternoon  of  Oct.  6th, 
at  about  4  p.  M.,  we  were  attracted  to  a  part  of  the  large  yard 
surrounding  our  home,  by  a  multitude  of  targe  sized  insects 


218  INSECT   CALENDAR. 

that  filled  the  air,  and  appeared  to  be  of  some  unusual  form  of 
insect  life,  judging  of  them  from  a  distance.  On  closer  inspec- 
tion these  creatures  proved  to  be  a  brood  of  red  ants  (Formica) 
that  had  just  emerged  from  their  underground  home  and  were 
now  for  the  first  time  using  their  delicate  wings.  The  sky,  at 
the  time,  was  wholly  overcast;  the  wind  strong,  southeast; 
thermometer  66°  Fahr.  Taking  a  favorable  position  near  the 
mass,  as  they  slowly  crawled  from  the  ground,  up  the  blades  of 
grass  and  stems  of  clover  and  small  weeds,  we  noted,  first, 
that  they  seemed  dazed,  without  any  method  in  their  move- 
ments, save  an  ill-defined  impression  that  they  must  go  some- 
where. Again,  they  were  pushed  forward,  usually  by  those 
coming  after  them,  which  seemed  to  add  to  their  confusion. 
As  a  brood  or  colony  of  insects,  their  every  movement  indicated 
that  they  were  wholly  ill  at  ease. 

"Once  at  the  end  of  a  blade  of  grass,  they  seemed  even  more 
puzzled  as  to  what  to  do.  If  not  followed  by  a  fellow  ant,  as 
was  usually  the  case,  they  would  invariably  fall  down  again  to 
the  earth,  and  sometimes  repeat  this  movement  until  a  new 
comer  joined  in  the  ascent,  when  the  uncertain  individual  would 
be  forced  to  use  his  wings.  This  flight  would  be  inaugurated 
by  a  very  rapid  buzzing  of  the  wings,  as  though  to  dry  them,  or 
prove  their  owner's  power  over  them,  but  which  it  is  difficult 
to  say.  After  a  short  rest,  the  violent  movement  of  the  wings 
would  recommence,  and  finally  losing  fear,  as  it  were,  the  ant 
would  let  go  his  hold  upon  the  blade  of  grass  and  rise  slowly 
upwards.  It  could,  in  fact,  scarcely  be  called  flight.  The 
steady  vibration  of  the  wings  simply  bore  them  upwards,  ten, 
twenty  or  thirty  feet,  until  they  were  caught  by  a  breeze,  or  by 
the  steadier  wind  that  was  moving  at  an  elevation  equal  to  the 
height  of  the  surrounding  pine  and  spruce  trees.  So  far  as  we 
were  able  to  discover,  their  wings  were  of  the  same  use  to  them, 
in  transporting  them  from  their  former  home,  that  the  'wings' 
of  many  seeds  are,  in  scattering  them ;  both  are  wholly  at  the 
mercy  of  the  winds. 

"Mr.  Bates,  in  describing  the  habits  of  the  Saiiba  ants  (CEco- 
doma  cephalotes)  says,*  'The  successful  debut  of  the  winged 
males  and  females  depends  likewise  on  the  workers.  It  is 
amusing  to  see  the  activity  and  excitement  which  reign  in  an 

¥ 
•Naturalist  on  the  River  Amazons,  vol.  1,  p.  32. 


THE  INSECTS   OF  SEPTEMBER.  219 

ant's  nest  when  the  exodus  of  the  winged  individuals  is  taking 
place.  The  workers  clear  the  roads  of  exit,  and  show  the  most 
lively  interest  in  their  departure,  although  it  is  highly  improb- 
able that  any  of  them  will  return  to  the  same  colony.  The 
swarming  or  exodus  of  the  winged  males  and  females  of  the 
Saiiba  ant  takes  place  in  January  and  February,  that  is,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  rainy  season.  They  come  out  in  the 
evening  in  vast  numbers,  causing  quite  a  commotion  in  the  streets 
and  lanes.'  We  have  quoted  this  passage  from  Mr.  Bates'  fasci- 
nating book,  because  of  the  great  similarity  and  dissimilarity  in 
the  movements  of  the  two  species  at  this  period  of  their  exis- 
tence. Remembering,  at  the  time  the  above  remarks  concern- 
ing the  South  American  species,  we  looked  carefully  for  the 
workers,  in  this  instance,  and  failed  to  discover  above  half  a 
dozen  wingless  ants  above  ground,  and  these  were  plodding 
about,  very  indifferent,  as  it  appeared  to  us,  to  the  fate  or  wel- 
fare of  their  winged  brothers.  And  on  digging  down  a  few 
inches,  we  could  find  but  comparatively  few  individuals  in  the 
nest,  and  could  detect  no  movements  on  their  parts  that  referred 
to  the  exodus  of  winged  individuals,  then  going  on. 

"On  the  other  hand,  the  time  of  day  agrees  with  the  remarks 
of  Mr.  Bates.  When  we  first  noticed  them,  about  4  p.  M.,  they 
had  probably  just  commenced  their  flight.  It  continued  until 
nearly  7  p.  M.,  or  a  considerable  time  after  sundown.  The  next 
morning,  there  was  not  an  individual,  winged  or  wingless,  to 
be  seen  above  ground ;  the  nest  itself  was  comparatively  empty ; 
and  what  few  occupants  there  were  seemed  to  be  in  a  semi- 
torpid  condition.  Were  they  simply  resting  after  the  fatigue 
and  excitement  of  yesterday  ? 

"It  was  not  possible  for  us  to  calculate  what  proportion  of 
these  winged  ants  were  carried  by  the  wind  too  far  to  return  to 
their  old  home ;  but  certainly  a  large  proportion  were  caught 
by  the  surrounding  trees ;  and  we  found,  on  search,  some  of 
these  crawling  down  the  trunks  of  the  trees,  with  their  wings 
in  a  damaged  condition.  How  near  the  trees  must  be  for  them 
to  reach  their  old  home,  we  should  like  to  learn ;  and  what  tells 
them,  'which  road  to  take  ?'  Dr.  Duncan  states,*  « It  was  for- 
merly supposed  that  the  females  which  alighted  at  a  great  dis- 
tance from  their  old  nests  returned  again,  but  Huber,  having 

Transformations  of  Insects,  p.  205. 


220  INSECT  CALENDAR. 

great  doubts  upon  this  subject,  found  that  some  of  them,  after 
having  left  the  males,  fell  on  to  the  ground  in  out-of-the-way 
places,  whence  they  could  not  possibly  return  to  the  original 
nest!'  We  unfortunately  did  not  note  the  sex  of  those  indi- 
viduals that  we  intercepted  in  their  return  (  ?)  trip ;  but  we  can 
not  help  expressing  our  belief  that,  at  least  in  this  case,  there 
was  scarcely  an  appreciable  amount  of  'returning'  on  the  part  of 
those  whose  exodus  we  have  just  described ;  although  so  many 
were  caught  by  the  nearer  trees  and  shrubbery.  Is  it  probable 
that  these  insects  could  find  their  way  to  a  small  underground 
•  nest,  where  there  was  no  *  travel'  in  the  vicinity,  other  than  the 
steady  departure  of  individuals,  who,  like  themselves,  were  ter- 
ribly bothered  with  the  wings  they  were  carrying  about  with 
them?*'  (American  Naturalist.) 

We  have  noticed  that  those  females  that  do  not  return  to  the 
old  nest  found  new  ones.  In  Maine  and  Massachusetts  we  have 
for  several  successive  years  noticed  the  swarming  of  certain 
species  of  ants  during  an  unusually  warm  and  sultry  day  early 
in  September. 

The  autumnal  brood  of  Plant  lice  now  occur  in  great  numbers 
on  various  plants.  The  last  brood,  however,  .does  not  consist 
exclusively  of  males  and  females,  for  of  some  of  the  wingless 
individuals  previously  supposed  to  be  perfect  insects  of  both 
sexes,  Dr.  W.  I.  Burnett  found  that  many  were  in  reality  of  the 
ordinary  gemmiparous  form,  such  as  those  composing  the  early 
summer  broods. 

The  White  Pine  Plant  lice  (Lachnus  strobi)  may  be  seen  lay- 
ing their  long  string  of  black  oval  eggs  on  the  needles  of  the 
pine.  They  are  accompanied  by  hosts  of  two-winged  flies, 
Ichneumons,  and  in  the  night  by  many  moths  which  feed  on  the 
Aphis-honey  they  secrete,  and  which  drops  upon  the  leaves 
beneath. 


INDEX. 


Abraxas  ribearia,  202. 

Acarus,  124.  t    [167. 

Acceleration,  theory  of  evolution  by, 

Achorutes,  145. 

Adela,  189. 

Agrion,  109. 

Agrion,  egg-parasite  of,  164. 

Agrotis,  197. 

Alternation  of  generations,  168. 

Alypia,  57,  197. 

American  teut  caterpillar,  187. 

Amnion,  166. 

Ancestral  forms,  151. 

Andrena,  31,  45,  192. 

Angle  worms,  189. 

Annelida,  161,  170. 

Anopheles,  189. 

Ant,  217. 

Antenna,  origin  of,  174. 

Antherophagus,  49. 

Ant  lion,  115,  182. 

Ants,  189. 

Anura,  136, 145, 147. 

Anurida,  146. 

Apathus,  47. 

Aphis,  151,  203. 

Aphis  eater,  75. 

Aphis  of  grain,  209. 

Apple  borer,  208. 

Apple  insects,  83. 

Apple  tree  borer,  187. 

April,  insects  of,  187. 

Agonum,  191. 

Aquarium,  195. 

Arachnida,  ancestry  of,  189. 

Archetype,  186. 

Archetypes  in  Insects,  150. 

Arctia,  107. 

Argas,  123. 

Argynnis,  193, 197. 

Army  worm,  55. 

Arrlienodes,  206. 

Arthropoda,  166. 

Aspidiotus,  203.  [honey  bee,  39. 

Assnius,  Edward,   on  parasites   of 

Astoma,  122, 159. 

August,  insects  of,  209. 

Band,  primitive,  163, 167. 


Bark  borer,  188,  216. 

Bark  louse,  203. 

Barnacle,  155. 

Bed  bug,  96,  183. 

Bees,  17,  168,  206. 

Bee  louse,  41. 

Beneficial  insects,  190. 

Billings  on  Eophyton,  158. 

Bird  tick,  84. 

Black  fly,  73. 

Blight  insect,  203. 

Bombardier  beetle,  191. 

Borer,  187. 

Bot  fly,  77. 

Botrytis,  47. 

Brachinus,  191. 

Brauer,  F.,  on   ancestry  of  insects, 

157.    On  two  larval  forms,  175. 
Braula,  41. 
Breeze  fly,  74. 
Brephos,  189. 
Bristle  tail,  127. 
Bruchus,  188. 
Buprestis,  206. 

Cabbage  butterfly,  55.  207. 

Caddis  fly,  153. 

Caddis  fly  larva,  178. 

Caddis  worm,  195. 

Calendar,  Insect,  187. 

Caloptenus,  211. 

Calosoma,  190. 

Campodea,  133,  159, 170, 178. 

Campodea-stage  of  insects,  157. 

Canker  worm,  187,  201. 

Carabidas,  189, 190. 

Carabus,  191. 

Carboniferous   insects,  158.     Myrio- 

pods,  158.    Scorpion,  158. 
Carpenter  bee,  192. 
Carpet  fly,  75. 
Case  worms,  195. 
Cabnonia,  191. 

Caterpillar,  origin  of,  175, 179. 
Cecidomyia,  168,  196,  203. 
Cecidomyia  tritici,  197. 
Centipede,  149. 
Ceratma,  24, 192. 
(Jeresa,  209. 


222 


INDEX. 


Cestodes,  162. 

Cheese  maggot,  83. 

Cheese  mite,  124. 

Cheyletus,  119. 

Chigoe,  86. 

Chinch  bug,  55,  203. 

Chionea,  85. 

Chironomus,  168,  189. 

Chloeon,  170,  180. 

Chrysobothris,  206. 

Chrysopa,  171,  182,  208. 

Chrysophanus,  193,  207. 

Cicada,  212. 

Cicindeia,  189. 

Clothes  moth,  64, 188. 

Coccinella,  204. 

Coddling  moth,  188. 

Coleopterous  larvae,  175. 

Collembola,  133,  159. 

Comprehensive  type,  154. 

Compsidea,  90. 

Conotrachelus,  194. 

Copepoda,  167. 

Corydalus,  mandibles  of,  182. 

Crab,  155,  156. 

Crustacea,  differences  of  from  insects, 

157. 

Currant  borer,  204. 
Currant  worm,  202. 
Cut  worm,  197. 
Cyclops-like  stage,  162. 
Cynips,  193. 

Daddy-long-legs,  194. 

Dawson's  discovery  of  fossil  myrio- 

pods,  159. 
Dawson   on   fossil  land    plants   of 

Upper  Silurian,  158. 
Degeeria,  143. 
Demodex,  125,  148,  160. 
Devil's  darning-needle,  106. 
Devonian  formation,  insects  in,  158. 
Diabrotica,  194. 
Dicerca,  206. 
Dicyrtoma,  142. 
Diplax,  113,  154. 
Dipterous  gall  fly,  196. 
Dipterous  larvae,  175.  [169. 

Dohrn,  Anton,  on  ancestry  of  insects, 
Dragon  fly,  106,  171,  195. 
Dujardinia,  170. 
Dytiscus,  182. 

Ear  wig,  136. 
Echinoderes,  169. 
Egg  parasites,  201.    . 
Egg  parasite  of  Agrion,  164. 
Eggs  of  canker  worm,  187. 
~        tree  insects,  90. 

mbryology,  comparative,  167. 
Embryology  of  Podura,  140. 
gnnomos,  216. 

ephemera,  154,  194. 

Sphydra,  174. 

Cruciform  larva,  175. 
Euphorberia,  158. 
Evolution  theory,  152. 
Eyes  of  insects,  185. 


Fabre  on  hypermetamorphosis,  43. 

Fall  weaver,  197. 

Fire  fly,  202. 

Flea,  86. 

Forceps  Tail,  171. 

Forficula,  136. 

Fossil  insects,  158.     Myriopods,  158. 

Scorpion, 158. 
Foul  brood,  40. 

Gad  fly,  74. 

Galley  worm,  149. 

Gall  flies.  193^ 

Gall  fly,  72,  203. 

Gall  fly,  two-winged,  196. 

Gamasus,  120. 

Ganin  on  embryology  of  insects,  161. 

Gegenbaur  on  tracheae,  172. 

Generalized  types,  154. 

Generation,  alternate,  168. 

Gerris,  210. 

Gerris,  egg-parasite  of,  166. 

Gills  of  insects,  172. 

Gnat,  71, 189. 

Gonocerus,  204. 

Gordius,  46. 

Gortyna,  215.  , 

Grain  Aphis,  209. 

Grape  insects,  57. 

Grape  leaf  roller,  205. 

Grape  saw  fly,  207. 

Grapta,  189,  204,  207. 

Grasshopper,  181,  211. 

Green  head,  74. 

Grimm  on  parthenogenesis,  168. 

Hseckel,  Ernst,  on  ancestry  of  in- 
sects, 156. 

Hairs  of  insects,  185. 

Hair  worm,  46. 

Halictus,  31,  192. 

Haliday,  A.  H.,  on  Thysanura,  133. 

Hartt's  discovery  of  fossil  insects  in 
New  Brunswick,  158. 

Harvest  bugs,  122. 

Haustellate  insects,  183. 

Hawk  moth,  194,  200. 

Head  of  insects,  mode  of  formation 
of,  174. 

Heart,  iv. 

Hemiptera,  209. 

Hemipterous  larvae,  175. 

Hessian  fly,  72, 196. 

Heteropus,  126. 

Hibernation  of  insects,  192. 

Hirudo,  166. 

Histolysis,  168. 

Histriobdella,  166. 

Histri9bdella  stage  of  Polynema,  164. 

Hop  vine  moth,  215. 

Horse  tick,  84. 

House  fly.  80. 

Humble  bee  parasite,  215. 

Humming  bird  moth,  194. 

Hunt  on  organic  life  in  the  Lauren- 
tian  period,  158. 

Hylobius  pales,  188. 

Hylurgus  terebrans,  188. 


INDEX. 


223 


Hymenopterous  larvae,  175. 
Hyper-metamorphosis  of  insects,  166. 
Hyphantria,  204. 
Hypodermis,  163. 

Ichneumon,  161,  201. 

Illinois,  fossil  insects  of,  159. 

Ilythia,  215. 

Injurious  insects,  190. 

Insects,  ancestry  of,  150. 

Insects,  archetypes  of,  150. 

Insects,  beneficial,  190. 

Insect  calendar,  187. 

Insects,  embryology  of,  154, 155. 

Insects,  flight  of,  ix. 

Insects  in  the  Devonian  formation, 

158. 

Insects,  metamorphosis  of,  166. 
Insects,  origin  of,  156. 
Insects,  reason  in,  30,  37. 
Insects,  respiration  9^,  171. 
Insects,  senses  of,  xiii. 
Insects,  sexes  in,  52. 
Insects,  transformations  of,  xiv,  50. 
Insects,  wingless,  171. 
Intestinal  worms,  161. 
Isotoma,  140, 143. 
Itch  mite,  125. 
Ixodes,  117, 123. 

Japyx,  132. 

Jaws  of  insects,  origin  of,  174. 

Jelly  fishes,  168. 

Joint  worm,  55. 

Julus,  149,  169. 

Julus,  embryology  of,  164. 

July,  insects  of,  206. 

June,  insects  of,  200. 

Kowaleusky's  researches  on  embry- 
ology of  worms,  169. 

Labium,  vi,  165. 

Lachnosterna  fusca,  202. 

Lachnus,  220. 

Lady  bird,  208. 

Larva,  cruciform,  175.  Leptiform, 
175.  Two  kinds  of,  175. 

Larval  skin  of  Crustacea,  166. 

Leaf  cutter  bee,  26,  206. 

Leaf  roller,  188, 197,  205. 

Leeches,  166. 

Legs  of  insects,  173. 

Leidy,  J.,  on  internal  parasites  of  in- 
sects, 39,  46. 

Lepidocyrtus,  144. 

Lepidopterous  larvae,  175. 

Lepisma,  128. 

Leptiform  larva,  175. 

Leptus,  120,  155,  159. 

Lespes,  on  sense  of  hearing  in  in- 
sects, xiv. 

Leucania,  55. 

Leuckart  on  embryology  of  Hirudo, 
168.  Parthenogenesis,  168. 

Libellula,  107, 195. 

Linden  tree  insects,  90. 

Linguatula,  160. 


Lipura,  145. 

Lithobius,  178. 

Locust  tree  insects,  93. 

Louse,  96,  154. 

Lubbock's    discovery  of  Pauropus- 

149. 
Lubbock,  Sir   John,  on  Thysanura, 

133; 'on  the  origin  of  insects,  159, 

173. 

Machilis,  128. 

Macrodactylus,  206. 

Macrosila  cluentius,  184. 

Magg9t,  origin  of,  175, 178. 

Mandible,  vi. 

Mandibles  of  moths,  183. 

Mandibulate  insects,  183. 

Mange  mite,  125. 

Marey  on  the  flight  of  insects,  ix. 

Mason  bee,  192. 

Maxillae,  vi. 

Maxilla  of  moths,  184. 

May  beetle,  202. 

May  fly,  194. 

May,  insects  of,  192. 

Mazonia,  158. 

Meat  fly,  82. 

Meek's  discovery  of  fossil  insects  in 

Illinois,  158. 
Megachile,  26. 
Melipona,  18. 
Melitaaa,  193,  207. 
Melitsea  Phaeton,  204. 
Meloe,  21,  42. 
Metamorphosis  of  insects,  166,  175: 

origin  of,  179. 
Miastor,  168. 
Microgaster,  49. 
Mites,  116,  149. 
Mosquito,  68. 
Mosquito  hawk,  195. 
Mouth-parts  of  insects,  origin  of,  173. 
Mucor,  47. 
Mud  dauber,  207. 
Miiller,  Fritz,  on  ancestry  of  insects, 

156,  169. 

Miiller,  J.,  on  sight  in  insects,  xiii. 
Murray's  discovery  of  Eophyton  in 

America,  158. 
Musca,  80, 168. 
Muscardine,  47. 
Mycetobia,  73. 
Myobia,  169. 
Myriopoda,  149.    Ancestry  of,  159. 

Nannophya,  114. 

Nauplius,  155, 160. 

Nebalia,  182. 

Nephelis,  166. 

Nephopteryx,  49. 

Neuropterous  larvae,  175. 

New  Brunswick,  fossil  insects  of,  158. 

Newport,  on   embryology  of  Julus, 

164. 

Nicoletia,  131. 
Nomada,  38. 
Notonecta,  209. 
Nova  Scotia,  fossil  insects  of,  159. 


224 


INDEX. 


Ocypete,  159. 

Odynerus,  207. 

CEcanthus,  216. 

Oil  beetle,  188. 

Onion  fly,  49. 

'Ophioneurus,  embryology  of,  165. 

Orchesella,  143. 

Ornithomyia,  84. 

Orthopterous  larvae,  175. 

Osmia,  27. 

Otiorhynchus,  199. 

Ovipositor  of  Cicada,  185. 

Palpus,  vi.    Origin  of,  174. 

Pangus,  191. 

Panorpa,  171,  209. 

Paper  wasp,  207. 

Papilio  Asterias,  200. 

Papirius,  142. 

Parasite  of  insect  eggs,  164. 

Parsnip  butterfly,  200. 

Parthenogenesis,  168. 

Pasteur  on  the  silk  worm   disease, 

63. 

Pauropus,  149, 154, 158, 171. 
Peach  borer,  206. 
Pear  slug,  207. 
Pea  weevil,  188. 
Peck,  W.  D.,  on  the  habits  of  Stylops 

and  Xenos,  45,  46. 
Pelopseus,  207. 
Pentastoma,  148, 160. 
Peripatus,  161. 
Perla,  154. 
Phora,  40. 
Phymata,  211. 
Phytocoris,  211. 
Pickle  worm,  57. 
Pieris,  55,  197,  207. 

Pieris  brassicas,  egg  parasite  of,  165. 
Pine  plant  louse,  220. 
Pine  weevil,  188, 199. 
Piophila,  83. 
Pirates,  210.  • 
Pissodes  strobi,  188. 
Plan  of  structure,  186. 
Plant  louse,  220. 
Platygaster,  embryology  of,  161. 
Plum  weevil,  194. 
Podura,  133,  135, 144, 153,  154, 159, 170. 

Catch  of,  139.    Spring  of,  137. 
Podurids,  the  ancestors  of  the  true 

insects,  157. 
Poisonous  insects,  214. 
Polynema,  embryology  of,  164. 
Poplar  tree  insects,  92. 
Potato  insects,  63. 
Prelarval  stage  of  ichneumons,  168. 
Primitive  band,  163, 166. 
Primitive  insects,  175. 
Prionus,  93. 
Procris,  60. 
Protoleptus,  172, 174. 
Pseudoneuroptera,  178. 
Ptinus  fur,  200. 
Putnam,  F.  W.,  on  habits  of  the  bees, 

19,  26. 
Pyrrharctia,  207. 


Ranatra,  210. 
Rat-tailed  fly,  76. 
Reduvius,  210. 
Reproduction,  virgin,  168. 
Respiration  of  insects,  171. 
Retardation,  theory  of  evolution  by, 

167.  , 

Rose  beetle,  206. 
Rose  saw  fly,  196. 
Rose  slug,  207. 
Rotatoria,  ancestors  of  Crustacea,  169. 

Salpa,  168. 

Saperda,  91,  208. 

Sarcoptes,  125. 

Saw  fly,  196, 207. 

Saw  of  saw  fly,  185. 

Schiodte  on  the  mouth-parts  of  the 
louse,  96. 

Scolopocryptops,  149. 

Scorpion,  fossil,  158. 

Scudder  on  fossil  insects  of  New 
Brunswick  and  Illinois,  158. 

Seira,  143. 

Selandria,  207. 

Selandria  rosae,  196. 

September,  insects  of,  216. 

Sesia,  194. 

Seventeen  year  locust,  212. 

Sexes,  origin  of,  152. 

Sheep  tick,  85. 

Shrimp,  155. 

Siebold,  T.  von,  on  the  ears  of  grass- 
hoppers, xiv. 

Siebold  on  parthenogenesis,  168. 

Silk  worm,  51. 

Silver  witches,  128. 

Simulium,  73. 

Sitaris,  44. 

Smith,  F.,  on  stingless  bees,  18.  On 
parasitic  bees,  37. 

Smynthurus,  142. 

Species,  origin  of,  152. 

Sphinx,  194,  197,  200,  207. 

Spider,  155. 

Spider  fly,  85. 

Spindle  worm,  215. 

Spinneret  of  caterpillars,  183;  of  spi- 
ders, 185. 

Spring,  insects  of,  187. 

Spring  of  Podura,  185. 

Spring  tail,  127. 

Squash  beetle,  194. 

Squash  bug,  204. 

Sting  of  bee,  185. 

Sting,  origin  of,  165. 

Stylops,  21,  45,  152,  179, 188. 

Sucker  of  insects,  183. 

Sugar  mite,  124. 

Swarming  of  ants,  217. 

Syllis,  170. 

Syrphus,  75. 

Tabanus,  74. 
Tachina,  39,  189. 
Tailor  bee,  26. 
Tardigrade,  150, 160. 
Teleas,  embryology  of,  166. 


INDEX. 


225 


Templetonia,  143. 

Tent  caterpillar,  187. 

Tenthredo,  207. 

Tettigonia,  209. 

Thanaos,  197. 

Thecla,  197. 

Thorax  of  insects,  173. 

Thysanura,  127, 154. 

Ticks,  116. 

Tinea,  64, 188. 

Tipula,  194. 

Tomicus,  199. 

Tomocerus,  137, 143. 

TonjTi'e  of  insects,  183. 

Torell's   discovery   of  Eophyton   in 

Sweden,  158. 
Tortrices,  205. 
Tortrhidae,  188. 
Tracnea,  iv. 
Tracheae,  absence  of  in  Polynema, 

165. 

Tracheae,  origin  of,  171. 
Tree  cricket,  216. 
Trichocera  hyemalis,  189. 
Trichodes,  42. 
Trigona,  18. 

Trochilium  tipuliforme,  205. 
Trombidium,  120,  159. 
Trouvelot,  L.,  on  amount  eaten  by 

silk  worms,  vii,  60. 
Turnip  butterfly,  197. 

Uhler,  P.  R.,  on  habits  of  the  dragon 
fly,  107, 110. 


Verrill,  A.  E.,  on  the  parasites  of  man 

and  the  domestic  animals,  84. 
Vine  dresser,  59. 
Virgin  reproduction,  168. 

Wasp,  206. 

Water  bear,  150. 

Water  boatman,  166,  209. 

Waterhouse,  G.  E,.,  on  habits  of 
Osmia,  27. 

Weevil,  179, 188, 194. 

Weismann  on  growth  of  insects,  164. 

West,  Tuffen,  on  the  foot  of  the  fly, 
viii. 

Wheat  midge,  197. 

Wine  fly,  83. 

Wingless  insects,  171. 

Wings  of  insects  as  respiratory  or- 
gans, 165. 

Wings,  origin  of,  172. 

Worthen's  discovery  of  fossil  insects 
in  Illinois,  158. 

Worms,  the  ancestors  of  insects,  160, 
169. 

Wyman,  Jeffries,  on  the  cells  of  the 
honey  bee,  17. 

Xenos,  46. 
Xylobius,  159. 
Xylocopa,  21. 

Zaddach  on  development  of  worms, 

insects  and  crustaceans,  169. 
Zoea,  156. 


.8 


Torell's    difc 

Sweden,  15- 
Tortrices,  2 
Tortri-' ' 
Trac 


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